January 29, 2024: Jude 22-23 - Let Us Help Those who are Deceived

“And of some have compassion, making a difference: and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.” - Jude 22-23

In the prior verses, verses 20-21, Jude told us how we, who are saved by believing in Christ alone for our salvation from sins, can prevent ourselves from falling into the trap of deceivers and imposters, of whom he has written about in the majority of this book. We do that by growing in our faith through prayer and through reading God’s word so that we can recognize for ourselves when someone is trying to deceive us by corrupting what God has written. When we know the truth, which is built on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ, we will not be led astray; rather, we will keep ourselves in the love of God, even when it means it is time to leave an apostate church.

I venture to say that many people today who go to church do not read God’s word for themselves. Of those who do read it, I estimate that the majority of those only read it on a very shallow level and do not study God’s word like we should. For example, for people who profess to be saved, then they should know that this world is not going to get better before the second coming of Christ but that things are going to get worse, much worse. The apostle Paul refers to this degradation as “perilous times” that will come “in the last days.” (2 Timothy 3:1) The key thing is that Paul is not referring to unbelievers in this passage but people who likely go to church and profess to be saved but who truly are not. Paul even tells us who are saved that we are to turn away from them:

“Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away,” (2 Timothy 3:5)

In order for a believer in Christ not to give in to the lies and deception of deceivers in the church, we must know for ourselves what God’s word says so that when we are told a lie by a false pastor/teacher or anyone for that matter, we will recognize it as a lie and turn away from them. We also have to be able to discern truth from almost truth. Satan will use deceivers to deceive many by putting in a lot of truth and mixing in a little lie. The Bible tells us clearly that the number of deceivers who deceive people will increase in the latter days, and Jesus’ first words to His disciples regarding His second coming was to let no one deceive them:

“But evil men and seducers [imposters] shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.” (2 Timothy 3:13)

“And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world [age]? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” (Matthew 24:3-5)

The apostle Paul warned us that we must not be deceived and we must not participate with them in their sin:

“Let no man deceive you with vain [empty] words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes [once] darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove [expose] them.” (Ephesians 5:6-11)

Notice that Paul said deceivers deceive people with their vain or empty words. This is exactly what Jude had previously written about:

“These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage [flattering people to gain advantage].” (Jude 16)

Sadly, many churches, including churches in America, and I would say the majority of American churches, are being led by deceivers who are telling people what they want to hear to make them feel good in their sins rather than telling them what they need to hear so that they can see they are sinners who need to turn to Jesus. However, most of the people in those churches keep going to them because they have grown fat and lazy, which is what happens many times in a society or country that lives in abundance and comfort. They aren’t used to having to do read and study the Bible for themselves and don’t want to; rather, they want to take the easy route and have someone else to do it for them. They want the fast-food version of the Bible, and they want it in less than a minute. As with literally eating fast food, instead of getting fed the true, nourishing word of God, they are getting fed empty, swelling words - junk food - that fill them up and make them feel full for a moment but afterward leaves them spiritually malnourished. By doing this, they are voluntarily putting themselves at risk of being deceived. This is in complete contrast to what Paul told the young pastor Timothy that he needed to do - and what we need to do - in these perilous times:

“But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:14-15)

It is thought that Paul was referring to Timothy’s grandmother Lois and mother Eunice, who had taught Timothy the scriptures, as Paul mentioned them by name in 2 Timothy 1:5. Notice in the scripture passage above, that Paul said Timothy had learned and knew the holy scriptures, and by having done that, Timothy is able to be wise in his faith in Jesus Christ. You have probably heard how bank tellers are taught to recognize counterfeit currency from true, authentic currency. They do not examine the counterfeit currency; no, they thoroughly examine the true currency, and they use this as the standard to compare against a counterfeit. The same is true for the word of God. We as believers must use it as the standard by studying it and knowing it so that when we come across a counterfeit version of God’s word, we can recognize what it is and avoid it at all costs.

The apostle Paul warned us that we must put on the whole armor of God so that we can stand against the wiles or schemes of the devil. He reminded us that it is not mankind we are wresting against but it is a spiritual battle being led by Satan:

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:10-13)

Paul named the six pieces of the armor of God, and you can compare them to what a soldier long ago would wear to protect himself in a war:

  1. Belt of truth

  2. Breastplate of righteousness

  3. Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace

  4. Shield of faith

  5. Helmet of salvation

  6. Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God

Paul also included what I consider to be the seventh piece of armor, which is extremely important:

7. Praying always, in the Spirit

We know the power that exists in prayer:

“Be careful [anxious] for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep [guard] your hearts and mind through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

“Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Jesus Christ; Matthew 26:41)

“And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.” (Jesus Christ; Matthew 21:22)

“The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.” (Proverbs 15:29)

We are in a spiritual war, and Satan is doing all that he can today, just as he did long ago with Eve, to plant seeds of doubt in peoples’ minds and that includes people in the church. As brothers and sisters who are saved by Jesus Christ, what then do we do when one of our own begins to have doubts about God because they do not realize they are being deceived, perhaps by a pastor or someone who has a lot of influence in their life? What do we do when someone we know or have met who is seeking Jesus but has doubts? What do we do when someone is headed straight for hell, denying God and rejecting Jesus’ free gift of salvation, and living their lives in a way that they call “good” but which God says will lead them to hell? This is what Jude is addressing in verses 22 and 23, and he makes a distinction between two types of people.

The first group is those for whom we are to have compassion and to help them by giving them the truth in love. We remind them it is Satan who causes us to doubt God’s word. We remind them of God’s deep love for us, and that He wants us to know the truth: God the Father sent God the Son, Jesus Christ, so that we will be saved from our sins and delivered from spending our eternity in hell if we believe in Jesus as our Savior. When we meet someone who is truly seeking to know the truth, we must give it to them, trusting in and knowing that the Holy Spirit who dwells within us will lead us and provide us with the right words to say to them (Mark 13:11). When we make that decision to put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ to save us from our sins, we are instantly filled with the Holy Spirit, who opens our eyes to give us understanding of God’s word. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit comprise the Trinity: one God in three persons, and they each perform distinct works in our lives.

When someone is seeking to know the truth, Satan will put whatever and whomever in their path, including the many cults around the world, to prevent them from knowing the truth of God and to deceive them. I know this from my own personal experience when I was seeking to know the truth but not understanding what makes putting one’s faith in Jesus Christ so different from all the various religions around the world. Literally, as soon as I began seeking, with a true longing in my heart to know God, there came a knock at my door from one of the cults, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who were all too willing to give me their version of “the truth” that were pure lies from Satan. I was deceived for over four years, but through God’s love for me, He snatched me out of that cult and began showing me the truth. Oh, how I thank Him for that, for I was headed for the eternal fire of hell and brimstone!

Satan, the great deceiver, uses all means possible to deceive people into believing otherwise because he wants to be God. There are many people in our world, both in the past and in our world today, who believe that if they follow Satan, also called the Devil and Lucifer, they can be like god or become gods. This is increasing in our world today at a rapid pace, with many rich and powerful people all over the world pushing transhumanism. These are lies from the pit of hell. There is only one God, and we will never be Him.

The other group of people, whom Jude described in verse 23, are those whom he says we are to save by fear, by telling them what the word of God says will be their future eternity if they remain on the path of destruction: the eternal lake of fire and brimstone. As a fireman would pull someone out of a burning building to save them, we are to try and pull or snatch unbelievers out of the fire by giving them the truth of God. People who have not put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ are being bombarded with the lies of Satan, who is using apostate pastors/teachers, churches, educational systems, media, entertainment industries, corrupt governments, and anyone or anything else to cause them to stumble (sin) and he is leading them to hell. We are to warn unbelievers by giving them the truth.

God used His angels to warn Lot and his family that God was going to destroy the wicked cities Sodom and Gomorrah because of the deep sin of the peoples that lived there and that Lot and his family must leave that place:

And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: for we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen [has grown] great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.” (Genesis 19:12-14)

Lot had a wife, two daughters and their husbands, who were his sons in law. Lot went and warned his sons in law of what was coming and that they must get out of the city. However, they did not believe Lot and thought he was joking:

“And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked [joked] unto his sons in law.” (Genesis 19:14)

The next morning, the angels went to urge Lot to hurry up and get out of the city because he and his family were lingering. The angels literally took Lot and his family by their hands and pulled them out of Sodom and Gomorrah before God sent fire and brimstone upon those cities to destroy them:

“And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity [punishment] of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without [outside] the city.” (Genesis 19:15-16)

Before God would destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and after the angels had brought Lot and his family out of the city, they told Lot and his family:

“Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.” (Genesis 19:17)

Then God sent destruction upon Sodom and Gomorrah:

“Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; and he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.” (Genesis 19:24-25)

However, Lot’s wife did not heed the words of God’s angels, and she looked back at the city, for her heart’s desire was to remain in her sin and not turn away from it and turn to God. She was given the truth, and she refused to believe it. For that, she was destroyed:

“But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.” (Genesis 19:26)

Out of six people in Lot’s family, only three people made it out alive after Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, and that was Lot and his two daughters. Two people, his sons in law, didn’t believe in the truth that were told them, and his wife knew the truth but her heart didn’t want the saving truth but wanted her sin. Consequently, they were destroyed when God rained down destruction on Sodom and Gomorrah.

We as believers in Jesus Christ cannot save anyone by forcing them to believe in the truth of God; but we can give them the truth, telling them what lies ahead for them if they continue in their sin. However, the choice of whether to repent by turning to God, having a change in their heart to follow the light instead of the darkness, is theirs alone to make. We tell them the truth in love, and we do not participate in or approve of their sin, thinking we can “love” it out of them. No, true love is giving them the truth, even if it offends them and even if they hate us afterward. We still love them but we hate their sin. We pray for them to turn to Jesus Christ and be saved.

Just as with Sodom and Gomorrah, the world is in rebellion against God. Many countries, especially in the USA, are just like Sodom and Gomorrah were back then. May we remember the end of those cities, and that for the USA and any country who is like those cities were, our end may very well be the same:

“Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread [food], and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.” (Ezekiel 16:49-50)

We help people who are caught in sin, whether believers or unbelievers, by giving them the truth of God, which truly is to love people. We do not pretend to love people by caving to the increasing demands of society to call what is evil, good and what is good, evil. We do not change the word of God so that it accommodates and even promotes their sin. No, we earnestly contend for our faith in Jesus Christ, boldly and unashamedly proclaiming the everlasting gospel and praying for those who are deceived by the lies of Satan:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek [non-Jew], For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17)

When we do this, we have a clean conscience, knowing we did everything we could to save them from the fire. What they do with it is up to them, just as it was with Lot and his family. ✝️

January 23, 2024: Jude 20-21 - Let Us Keep Ourselves in the Love of God

“But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” -  Jude 20-21

Jude, having previously described the men who had crept in unawares to the churches and had corrupted and defiled them, “turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Jude 4), now switches his conversation to encourage those who had not done those things and who remained steadfast in their faith in the Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. It is these men whom he addresses as “beloved.” He immediately sets the tone that we are to love our brothers and sisters in Christ by remaining in the love of God. This is a clear contrast between the “they” and the “we,” and we see this all throughout the Bible. The “they” do not have the Holy Spirit in them, and have no solid foundation on which to build their faith, for they reject the saving power of Jesus Christ. We, who are in Christ, have built our foundation of faith on the One who is the cornerstone of our faith: Jesus.

The apostle Luke wrote of this firm foundation when his fellow apostles Peter and John were witnessing to the Jewish people in Jerusalem of the saving power of Jesus Christ. Peter and John had gone into the Jewish temple and saw a man who had been lame from birth, meaning he could not walk. The man was carried every day to the gate of the temple, which was called Beautiful, so that he could ask alms (beg) from those who went into the temple. The man saw Peter and John and asked alms of them. Peter replied by saying, “Look on us” (Acts 3:4) and the man did, expecting to receive something from them. The Bible tells us what happened next:

“Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have I give thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God: and they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.” (Acts 3:9-10)

All of the people who had seen this miracle ran to Peter and John and the man who had been healed and was holding onto them. Peter then proclaimed to them:

“Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly [intently] on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; and killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him [comes through Jesus] hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. And now, brethren, I wot [know] that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution [restoration] of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. Ye are the children [sons] of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds [families] of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.” (Acts 3:12-26)

After hearing Peter speak these words, the Bible tells us what happened next:

“…the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, being grieved [greatly disturbed] that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold [custody] unto the next day: for it was now eventide [evening]. Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.” (Acts 4:1-4)

The Jewish religious leaders felt threatened by what had happened and did not want to hear the truth of God, having rejected Jesus, the cornerstone of our firm foundation of our faith, and they surrounded Peter and John. The Jewish high priest and the elders of Israel then asked Peter and John, “By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?” (Acts 4:7). The Bible tells us what happened next:

“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, if we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent [helpless] man, by what means he is made whole; be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at naught of [rejected by] you builders, which is become the head of the corner [chief cornerstone]. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:8-12)

To build up ourselves on our most holy faith, we must first put our faith and trust in Jesus, believing that it is He who can save us, just as the lame man believed that Jesus could heal him and make him walk. To put our faith and trust in anyone or anything else to save us from our sins is not salvation by Jesus but deception by Satan. Secondly, we must remain in Jesus, we must continue in our faith in Him. After we are saved by Him, we should grow in Him and not become stagnate in our faith. This is a process called sanctification. People should begin to see a change in us if we have truly been born again.

“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” (Colossians 2:6-7)

Notice Paul did not write in the Scripture above that once we are saved, we can continue living the sinful life that we once were, doing whatever sinful activities we want during the week because on Sunday, we would go to church and get “sanctified.” No, sanctification comes by obeying God’s commandments to us to the best of our ability. As Jesus told His disciples, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” (Jesus Christ; John 14:15).

I can tell you from my own experience that I fought against what Jesus said for many years, going at it my own way, and I was absolutely miserable. I wasn’t keeping myself in the love of God; rather, I was keeping myself in the love of the way I wanted to live my life and not how HE wanted me to live. I didn’t want to hear His commandments, much less obey them. After many years of doing it my way, I finally came to the point where I felt like I could not go on anymore and finally surrendered my will to Him. After that, my life has been totally transformed for the better, and not just my own life but also the lives of those around me. While it took a while to see changes in my own life and in those around me, changes did happen. In my stubbornness, when sometimes I still fought against doing nice things for people who hurt me, even telling God I didn’t want to do what He was asking me to do, the still small voice would impress upon me, “Do it for Me.” God knew that when I learned to be obedient to Him and to trust in Him and not in myself, then changes would happen in both myself and in the people I knew. I had to let go of self-love, which is what the world pushes us to have, which originates from Satan, the ultimate lover of self, and instead to love God first, putting Him above everyone and everything else. I was learning to keep myself in the love of God.

As I was learning to keep myself in the love of God, I prayed, and I prayed, and I prayed. I had realized I didn’t need to pray to God just at a certain time of the day, such as before I went to bed at night, but I could pray at any time. I think it has only been recently, however, that there has been a difference in how I pray, and I believe that is by praying in the power of the Holy Spirit. When I would go through something stressful, I would have already decided whatever the “fix” was, and I would pray for God to make that happen. Looking back, I realize that this was me still trying to be a control freak, putting myself above God and telling Him how to fix it and asking Him to make it all happen, according to how I had decided it should be. After having gone through many years of stressful situations, particularly with my family, I finally had a wake-up call: I am not God, I do not know everything, and I truly am in control of nothing. My futile attempts at trying to fix things were only my selfish attempts to make life “normal” and to have “peace” in my life and in my family’s life. It was only when I finally came to this realization that I decided that when I pray about a situation, that I would just trust in God, to obey Him in all things, and not tell Him how I think things need to happen to “fix” a situation. He knows what I can’t know. He knows the end from the beginning. He may be allowing or even causing a certain situation to happen to me to help me grow in my faith, to let those roots of faith in Jesus grow deep and strong so that when turmoil hits and the strong winds of the storms of life blow, my faith won’t be toppled by the enemy Satan. God may be allowing a family member or friend to go through an extremely difficult time in their lives so that they can get to the point in their lives, like I did and as did many other believers, where they can see that they are broken and they reach out to the only One who can save them: Jesus. This, my dear friends, is true love. We can try and protect people and ourselves from all harm but if the end result is that we never see that we need Jesus, that we are all sinners in need of Him, and that only He can save us from our sins, that is not true love but is a selfish love that we want for ourselves and/or our family to make our earthly lives easier, no matter the cost to our eternal lives.

Before Jesus was crucified, He told His apostles that He would pray that God the Father would send to them the Comforter, who is also called the Helper, who is the Holy Spirit:

“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” (Jesus Christ; John 14:16-17)

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I had said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let your heart not be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (Jesus Christ; John 14:26-27)

“Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient [advantageous] that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove [convict] the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince [ruler; Satan] of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself [on his own authority]; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.” (Jesus Christ; John 16:7-16)

At the moment we are saved by turning to Jesus Christ to save us from our sins, the Holy Spirit enters us and dwells within us. It is the Holy Spirit who gives us the ability to understand God’s word when we read it. Notice that I said “when we read it” and not “if we read it.” If we are not reading God’s word regularly, we are not keeping ourselves in the love of God. The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth, and that includes showing us what we should pray for. The apostle Paul wrote about prayer and how the Holy Spirit intercedes for us according to the will of God:

“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities [weaknesses]: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for the good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:26-28)

As we wade through these stormy waters and perilous times that the apostles told us would come in the latter times, a time when apostasy in the churches seems to be at an all-time high, with many wolves in sheep’s clothing deceiving many, and many people who once called themselves Christians but who were not truly saved and had a false conversion, we must remember in whom our hope rests. Does our hope rest in a man to save us? Are we looking for a man or woman to turn this ship around, to turn America around so it can be “great” again? Are we looking for a man or woman to “build back better?” Or, are we reading God’s word and know that all the things that are happening were prophesied long ago and that things are not going to get better and will never get back to “normal?” We are seeing all the signs that Jesus told His disciples would indicate the coming of the 7-year time of Jacob’s trouble, followed by His second coming. For those of us who are saved by Jesus Christ, our hope should not be in saving our country but in the soon coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In Jesus we found mercy when we were yet sinners. He saves all who choose to believe in and trust in Him for redemption of our sins. He took on all our sins when He never sinned, no, not even once, so that all who turn to Him may be washed clean through His precious blood.

“For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed [poured out] on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:3-7)

The apostle Paul, who once voraciously persecuted those in the early church but was transformed by the light of Jesus Christ and was called by God to share the good news of salvation to the Gentiles (non-Jews), wrote of God’s mercy toward him. His life serves as an example to all that there is no one who is beyond God’s ability to save through His mercy and love that was given to us through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ:

“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen. This charge [command] I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away [rejected] concerning faith have made shipwreck [suffered].” (1 Timothy 1:12-19)

May we remember that He has given us the promise that when He calls up His church to Himself, both those who have already died and those who are still alive at that time, all we who have believed in Jesus will receive our new, resurrected bodies and we will be with Him for eternity:

“For our conversation [citizenship] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.” (Philippians 3:20-21)

“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump [trumpet]: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:50-58)

In these difficult days that are growing darker by the minute, let us remember and heed those words of Paul, particularly that last sentence, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain the Lord.” May we trust in the Lord God, keep ourselves in Him and in His love, and look for His mercy and our blessed hope, our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ:

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world [age]; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar [his own special] people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.” (Titus 2:11-15) ✝️

January 16, 2024: Jude 19 - They do not Have the Holy Spirit

“These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.” - Jude 19

After having described the many characteristics of the deceivers - men who have stealthily crept into churches and pretend to be saved but are not - Jude sums them up in three ways:

  • They separate themselves, meaning they cause divisions; they divide people against each other and influence people to separate from what they previously believed to follow them. The apostle Peter wrote of them:

“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily [secretly] shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious [destructive] ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of [blasphemed].” (2 Peter 2:1-2)

  • They are sensual, meaning natural or worldly-minded, being more concerned with their temporary life on earth and not their eternal, spiritual life. They are led by their sinful, fleshly desires rather than by the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit does not dwell within them. Two other examples of this meaning are shown below.

“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14)

“But if ye have bitter envying and strife [self-seeking] in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish [demonic]. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.” (James 3:14-16)

  • They do not have the Holy Spirit within them; only we who have believed in Jesus Christ and put our faith and trust in Him and Him alone to save us from all our sins have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit:

“And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying Abba, Father.” (Galatians 4:6)

“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirt of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” (Romans 8:9)

“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter [another name for the Holy Spirit], that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” (Jesus Christ; John 14:16-17)

These unbelievers are still living and walking according to their sinful flesh and not the Spirit of God. To make matters worse, they are pretending to be believers and their desire is to divide and conquer by any means necessary. What we have seen in churches, including, and perhaps especially, in America, is a great dividing of churches. There are many churches who have left God, that have left their first love, and there are churches that remain faithful to the word of God, unafraid to preach and teach on the entire Bible, even if it means losing many in their congregations and being slandered by those who don’t believe in God and His word. Sadly, this slandering also comes by some still in the church and who are more influenced by corrupt societies than they are by God. We have seen many church splits in America, particularly regarding issues of homosexuality and also abortion. I have posted below links to two articles that are an example of such splits:

It is clear and simple: Any church and any pastor that supports and advocates for anything that God calls sin is apostate and is not walking according to the Spirit but according to the flesh and is deceiving people into believing it is acceptable to God. The apostle Paul warned the early Christians in Rome, and his warning stands true to us today:

“The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering [licentiousness-disregarding sexual restraints] and wantonness [lewdness], not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.” (Romans 13:12-14)

Jesus can and wants to save us from our sins; that is why He came to the earth the first time: to offer us the free gift of salvation by putting our faith and trust in Him. However, we must decide for ourselves whether or not to accept that free gift. It doesn’t matter if we are deep in sin when we accept that gift, He will save us. We are ALL sinners in need of the Savior. Once we are saved, He sends us His Holy Spirit to reside within us and to guide us in our new life as a born again believer. Part of the Holy Spirit’s guiding is to show us when we are sinning and to help us sin less and less. Sometimes though we don’t want to heed this guiding, and we quench the Holy Spirit. I have been guilty of this many times. However, we must know with all certainty that Jesus does not want us to remain in sin and we must fight against it each and every day. We must heed the words of Paul to a young pastor named Titus:

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.” (Titus 2:11-15)

Notice that Paul did not tell Titus that he should preach to his congregation that if society approves that which God calls sin then it’s okay and people can live their lives as to how society dictates. No! He told Titus to teach his congregation to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. Sadly, we are seeing the results that come when many false pastors and teachers have crept in unawares into churches and have corrupted many, if not the majority of them, because their motivation is not to please God but to please their own ungodly and worldly lusts of the flesh.

The apostle Paul wrote about this battle between the flesh and the Spirit and the characteristics of those walking in the flesh versus those walking in the Spirit. Take a look at churches today - are they walking in the flesh or are they walking in the Spirit? I would say most are walking in the flesh.

“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest [evident], which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft [sorcery], hatred, variance [contentions], emulations [jealousies], wrath, strife [selfish ambitions], seditions [dissensions], heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, reveling, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance [self-control]: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.” (Galatians 5:16-26)

The first fruit of the Spirit that Paul listed above is love. To love someone is to tell them the truth, no matter if they might deem it offensive. The truth, the truth of God, can sting, and it is meant to. It is to show us that we are all sinners in need of the Savior Jesus Christ. After we are saved by putting our faith and trust in Him to forgive us of our sins, the truth reveals to us that we must not continue living in our sinful lifestyles and we must fight against our fleshly desires through the power of the Holy Spirit within us. When one is not truly saved by trusting in Jesus for their salvation, then they don’t fight against the sinful nature and are vulnerable to returning to their old ways, to their bondage, where their chains are held by the god of this world, Satan. True liberty is found only in Jesus, who seals us with His Holy Spirit:

“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” (2 Corinthians 3:17)

“This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles [unbelievers] walk, in the vanity [futility] of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness [hardening] of their heart; who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ; if so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: that ye put off concerning the former conversation [conduct] the old man [our former selves prior to salvation], which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: neither give place [an opportunity] to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:17-27)

True shepherds of God’s word will love you enough to give you the truth because they don’t want you to go to hell when you die but to be saved by our loving Savior Jesus Christ and spend your eternity with Him. True shepherds won’t tell you what you want to hear because it tickles your ears and makes you feel comfortable in your sin; only the hirelings, the false shepherds, the paid men, will do that, for they care not what happens to you. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, the One who laid His life down for you, and He gives you the truth. Jesus gave the truth to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor in Judea at the time when Jesus was crucified:

“Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fights, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.” (John 18:36-38)

Jesus gives us the answer to this question of what is truth:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (Jesus Christ; John 14:6)

The Bible tells us what happens to people when they deny the truth, and oh, how do we see this on full display today in society:

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold [suppress] the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest [evident] in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their bodies between themselves: who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change [exchange] the natural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust toward one another; men with men working that which is unseemly [shameful], and receiving in themselves that recompense [penalty] of their error which was meet [due]. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient [fitting]; being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate [strife], deceit, malignity [evil-mindedness], whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful [violent], proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable [unforgiving], unmerciful: who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” (Romans 1:18-32)

I challenge you to read the above passage again and see if there is any aspect of the society described therein that does not match society in our world today, particularly in American society. We have people who think they are the opposite sex of what they were born in, people who think they are not any sex, people who think they are cats, dogs, birds, horses, lamps, furniture, and you name it. There are women who say they are in love with a tree, chandelier, fence, roller coaster, bridge, dolphin, swimming pool, and it goes on and on. This truly is a description of society described in Romans 1 above. It is also a society that is the fulfillment of a prophecy of Paul that tells us perilous times will come in the last days as society denies God and the truth of God and embraces the lies and deception of Satan:

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent [without self-control], fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady [reckless], high-minded [haughty], lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (2 Timothy 3:1-7)

The types of people described in Romans 1 and 2 Timothy 3 are the ones who are being willfully deceived by Satan because they don’t want the truth of God that convicts them of their sin but they want the lies of Satan, who affirms their sin and makes them comfortable in it. They are just like Eve, who gave into the temptation of Satan, who was in the form of a serpent in the Garden of Eden. Satan asked her, “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (Genesis 3:1) and he lied to her, saying “Ye shall not surely die.” (Genesis 3:3) Eve, who knew the truth of God, suppressed the truth, even changing what God had told Adam, which was not to eat of the fruit, but Eve said they also must not touch it, which was a lie. Instead of fleeing from the serpent because she knew the truth of God, she desired after the fruit with her eyes and gave into the temptation. She willfully was deceived by Satan, and so was Adam when he also ate the fruit. Our society is no different. We have people who are deceived by Satan, asking “Did God really say that [fill in the blank] is a sin?” They are also saying there is no God, God is dead, we can become gods, which is also what Satan told Eve (Genesis 3:5), and that God wants us to do what we are doing because it makes us feel good and society says it’s okay and normal. All of these are lies, and we each have a choice whether to believe in them - and in the originator of the lies, Satan, who is the god of lies, the god of deception, the god of confusion - or to believe in the One true God and in the truth of God. It is these types of people who will be deceived by the coming final Antichrist because they deny the truth:

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery [hidden truth] of iniquity [lawlessness] doth already work: only he who now letteth [restrains] will let [do so], until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked [Lawless One] be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit [breath] of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned [condemned] who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-12)

We are seeing this falling away from the faith that the apostle Paul prophesied of in the above Scripture. Many “churches” are no longer houses of God but dens of the Devil, who are being led not by men of God but by pretenders, deceivers who do not have the Holy Spirit within them, just as God, through Jude and other apostles of Jesus Christ, told us there will be in the last times.

For we who remain in our faith in God and are saved by Jesus Christ, who believe the truth of God and reject the lies of Satan, we must stand firm by drawing near to God. We do that by reading His word, diligently seeking solid churches that have not caved to societal demands and if none are found, then having home Bible studies, and praying to God everyday. We stand firm in our faith, not cowering in fear, by putting on the whole armor of God that the apostle Paul wrote about in Ephesians 6:10-20. May we speak the truth of Christ boldly and in love, to an unsaved world that is perishing in its sin:

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles [schemes] of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery [hidden truth] of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds [chains]: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” (Ephesians 6:10-20)

Paul wrote to the church in Corinth that had been influenced by false teachers. True pastors and teachers in churches today, the ones who have not departed from the faith and who are preaching and teaching the truth of God in love and not some watered-down, sugar-coated, modified version of it, who are becoming fewer and fewer in number, and all believers in Jesus Christ would do good to heed Paul’s words:

“Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not [do not lose heart]; but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost [perishing]: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” (2 Corinthians 4:1-7) ✝️

January 11, 2024: Jude 17-18 - There Will be Mockers in the Last Time

“But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; how that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.” - Jude 17-18

Jude was reminding his brothers and sisters in Christ then and now that we must not be surprised when people mock us for our faith in Jesus and for believing He will come again a second time, and when He does, it will be for judgment. But what is a “mocker” in this context? Some Bible translations use the word “scoffer” instead of “mocker.” Let us consider what these words mean. Merriam-Webster.com defines “mock” as “to treat with contempt or ridicule: DERIDE” and also “to disappoint the hopes of.” It defines “scoff” as “an expression of scorn, derision, or contempt: GIBE” and “an object of scorn, mockery, or derision.” “Mocker” is translated from the Greek word, “empaiktés,” and Strong’s Concordance, which is an index of every word in the King Jame’s Bible, defines this Greek word as “a mocker, by implication a false teacher.” It is clear that in the context of Jude’s writing, this mocking will be from those inside the church, the ones whom Jude previously said “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Jude 4) Jude reminded his true brothers and sisters in Christ that the apostles prophesied this mocking and scoffing will happen in the last times because most people do not want the truth but want Satan’s lies that comfort them in their lustful acts. Because we have been warned in advance, if we read God’s word, we should be prepared for the mocking and scoffing and not be surprised by it when it happens to us. We must put on our spiritual armor to guard against this so that we can stand in the power and might of Almighty God.

Before we consider these prophesies of the apostles, let us look at the words “in the last time.” “Last time” was translated from the Greek word, “ἐσχάτου” or “eschaton,” which in this context, is translated as the “last” or “final” time. It is from where the word “eschatology” is derived, which is the study of the Bible of what will happen in the end times. This represents the period of time after the formation of the church until the second coming of Christ.

I would also like to list a few Scriptures that discuss mocking and scoffing of God:

  • “But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.” (2 Chronicles 36:16)

    • The “they” that are mentioned in the verse above that were doing the mocking were God’s own people in the divided land of Judah. They had wicked kings, worshipped false gods, and did detestable things. They did not heed the messengers of God and His prophets. Consequently, God used the king of Babylon to bring severe judgment upon them.

  • “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not [do not lose heart].” (Galatians 6:7-9)

    • We may believe that God can be mocked without consequence, but if we believe that, we are deceiving ourselves. We each must decide: do we follow the god of this world, Satan, and give in to our sinful, fleshly desires that are against God, or do we follow the one true God by putting our faith and trust in His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to save us from our sins, and let go of our sinful, fleshly desires through the power of the Holy Spirit. That decision will determine what we sow: corruption or life everlasting. If we choose Jesus, and I pray you do, then as the days grow darker and more wicked in these last days, we must rely on Him to be our strength and not grow weary.

  • “The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit. Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour.” (Proverbs 14:8-9)

    • Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6). When we know that we are sinners in need of the Savior Jesus Christ, we turn to Him - and Him only - to be saved and are made righteous in Him. However, fools are deceived by Satan, believing there is no sin, and make light of it. They will have no favor and will die in their sins and spend their eternity in hell with Satan and all who followed him.

  • “And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left. And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, and saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God. The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.” (Matthew 27:37-44)

    • Oh, the mocking and the scoffing that Jesus endured from both the Jews and the Romans while He hung on that cross! Before Jesus gave up His life, the sun was darkened and the massive vail inside the temple, which was approximately 60 feet high, was torn from top to bottom. “And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost [breathed his last].” (Luke 23:46) Jesus did die; however, the mockers and scoffers did not expect what would happen next: Jesus would rise again after three days, walk the earth for 40 days, and ascend to heaven to take His place at the right hand of God the Father, where He is now. As the Bible tells us, including in the book of Revelation, there is coming a day when Jesus will open the seven seals of the scroll which will start the 7-year tribulation period. At the end of that time period, Jesus will come again to judge and make war on the unrighteous and begin His 1,000-year righteous reign on earth as KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Let us examine the apostles’ prophesies and see just how relevant they are now, in the times in which we are living, nearly two thousand years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the book of Acts, the apostle Paul warned the Ephesian elders before he left Ephesus:

“And now, behold, I know that ye all among whom I have gone preaching in the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure [innocent] from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.” (Acts 20:25-31)

I think there are three key takeaways from Paul’s words to them:

  1. Paul said that he did not hesitate to declare “all the counsel of God” to them. How many pastors in churches today are not declaring the whole counsel of God to their flocks because they are afraid it might offend them or that reading prophetic books might “scare” them and keep them from coming back? How many pastors are leaving their flocks completely unprepared for the spiritual attacks coming against them by Satan?

  2. Paul said that wolves would come into the church and not spare the flock. These are wolves who pretend to be sheep but who devour them. These are pretenders, the same type of men that Jude wrote about who had crept in the church unawares.

  3. Paul also wrote that men who were among them would speak “perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” These are men who acted like they were saved but weren’t. They would cause division in the church and draw people out of it so they could indulge in the perverse things they and those who follow them lust after. We must remember that there are people in churches who are not saved, and that includes “pastors.” They may go to church every week, perhaps multiple days, attend Sunday School, dress nice, donate to the church, and play the part of a believer but are not saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. The apostle John wrote of these kinds of people:

“Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: [but] he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.” (1 John 2:18-23)

The apostle Paul also wrote to a young pastor named Timothy in Ephesus of what would happen in the latter times:

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.” (1 Timothy 4:1-6)

The departing from the faith that will happen in the latter times that Paul wrote about is known as the Great Apostasy. The words “will depart from” are translated from the original Greek word “apostēsontai. These are people who are in the church but who are swept away by the lies of the devil. They speak one thing and do the other; they are hypocrites. Their conscience which God gave them has been seared. What does it mean to “sear”? Merriam-Webster.com defines “sear” as “to cause withering or drying” and “to burn, scorch, mark, or injure with or as if with sudden application of intense heat.” This aligns perfectly with what Jude previously said of these deceivers: they are “clouds without water” and “trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots.” (Jude 12) They are dead in their trespasses, for their life does not belong to Almighty God but to the devil, to whom they have turned and who has branded them as his.

Notice in the verses above that it specifically says “forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats.” Are we not seeing the push to stop eating meat in the name of “climate change,” where globalists and even churches are serving and worshipping the creature or creation, more than God Himself? In July 2022, the Catholic Pope released a letter to participants of the 2022 European Youth Conference that encouraged young people to eat less meat: (See: https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/pont-messages/2022/documents/20220706-messaggio-conferenza-giovani.html)

“There is an urgent need to reduce the consumption not only of fossil fuels but also of so many superfluous things. In certain areas of the world, too, it would be appropriate to consume less meat: this too can help save the environment.”

At the 2023 COP28 conference, formally known as the United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties, a debate was held to discuss reducing red meat consumption particularly by wealthy countries to meet “climate change” goals: (See: https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2023-12-11/food-and-agriculture-organization-red-meat-reduction-cop28/103213512)

“According to a new roadmap from the world's peak food security body, wealthy countries will need to cut back meat and dairy consumption to hit health and environmental targets.”

To reduce meat consumption, we have Bill Gates, the cofounder of Microsoft, pushing his lab-grown meat: (See: https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/02/14/1018296/bill-gates-climate-change-beef-trees-microsoft/)

“I do think all rich countries should move to 100% synthetic beef. You can get used to the taste difference, and the claim is they’re going to make it taste even better over time. Eventually, that green premium is modest enough that you can sort of change the [behavior of] people or use regulation to totally shift the demand.”

On December 30, 2022, the Washington Examiner reported on the push to replace meat consumption with eating bugs: (See: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/push-to-eat-bugs-the-creepy-crawly-alternative-to-eating-meat)

Bill Gates and big names in Hollywood are pushing to eat bugs as a way to prevent climate change. The argument is that bugs are high in protein and could replace the high intake of beef, chicken, and pork. Critics against eating meat say raising these animals is adding to pollution. Time magazine even came out with an article pushing bugs as a sustainable, healthy alternative to meat.”

We also have many “pastors” in “churches” who are pushing toward eating less or no meat at all. Any quick Google search on the words “pastor advocate eating less meat” can provide many examples of such, including in the Seventh-day Adventists, Mormons, Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Episcopalian, Methodist, and other “churches.” They are examples of those that Paul describes in the book of Romans chapter 1:

“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead [divine nature]; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain [futile] in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves: who change the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.” (Romans 1:20-25)

Regarding marriage, we are seeing a trend toward declining marriage rates all around the world. (See: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2023/07/19/why-are-people-not-getting-married-anymore.html#:~:text=In%20the%20U.S.%2C%20marriage%20has,at%20the%20University%20of%20Virginia.)

“Almost 90% of the world’s population now live in countries with falling marriage rates. In the U.S., marriage has declined by 60% since the 1970s, while the median age for first marriages has increased for both men and women.”

As the agenda toward “climate change” continues to move forward by the globalists who worship and serve the creature and earth instead of the Creator, perhaps marriage will be banned altogether in order to “save the children.” We are already headed in that direction. An article was written regarding how “climate change” is causing an increase in child marriage. Instead of blaming the religions that allow these child marriages to happen, the globalists are putting the blame on “climate change.” (See: https://www.usaforunfpa.org/marriage-in-the-forecast-the-link-between-climate-change-and-child-marriage/)

“Deciding who and when to marry is a deeply personal choice. It can impact where you live, how many children you have, what level of education you can attain, and how financially secure you are. The consequences of forced marriage are dire. Every year, as climate change becomes more extreme and unpredictable, so too do girls’ futures.”  

While we have not seen laws yet that prohibit marriage between a man and a woman, which is the only Biblical definition of marriage, we can be assured it will happen, just as God said it would.

Paul also wrote to Timothy about the attitudes and characteristics of people in the last days. Paul was writing about people in churches who profess to be saved. They are pretenders; they have a form of godliness but are not saved. I have written about this Scripture several times and it is worth including it here because it is a perfect portrayal of the attitudes of people today, not only in America but around the world. It is these types of people who mock and scoff at true believers, we who believe every word of God is true, and who believe in the prophecies that have not been fulfilled yet but know that they will be and it will be in God’s perfect timing.

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous [money lovers], boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent [without self-control], fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady [reckless], high-minded [haughty], lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was…But evil men and seducers [imposters] shall wax [grow] worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (2 Timothy 3:1-9, 13)

The deceivers in the churches truly do not believe in the one true God and have not believed in His Son for their salvation. They are following the ways of the world and are not following Jesus, for if they did, they would not have the characteristics that Paul describes above. Many people in our world, especially since March 2020 have been worried about a virus killing them, but what truly is killing them is the sin virus. This virus has infected many Christian churches, who perhaps at one point were solid in their teachings, but now have been given over to their reprobate minds and are deceiving and being deceived. When someone who calls themselves a pastor but are motivated not by the things of the Spirit but by things of the flesh, such as money and sexual desires, the result is what we see today, especially in America, where many people go to church but who have all the characteristics listed by Paul in 2 Timothy 3:1-9 and 13. What does Paul tell us to do about them? He tells us to turn away from them.

We also have the words of the apostle Peter, which very closely mirror the words of Jude:

“This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: that ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep [died], all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: but the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against [until] the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness. Looking for and hasting [hastening] unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” (2 Peter 3:1-13)

Peter reminded us that we will be mocked and scoffed at for believing that Jesus Christ is coming again, and this time, His coming will be for the judgment and destruction of the ungodly. The ungodly are like those in the days of Noah, when corruption and violence filled the earth. It was in those days that they likely mocked Noah for building an ark to save all those who would listen to his warnings, to come on board, and be saved from the destruction that would come upon the earth, and it did. But as in those days, the warnings fell on deaf ears, as they are now. Many people are more worried about “climate change” and “saving the planet” than they are listening to God’s words and the words of His apostles. They think they can save the planet and reverse “climate change” but are willfully ignorant to the words of God that says: it is He - God Himself - who is keeping in store the heavens and the earth but has reserved them for fire. They do not believe His words, or refuse to read them, and are ignorant of the fact that everything on this earth and the earth itself will one day be burned up with fire, and that includes their own destruction. The earth and the heavens will be gone, and will be replaced by a new heavens and a new earth on which only those who have been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ will reside, in our new glorified bodies.

One of the major issues that both believers and unbelievers mock is the rapture of the church, and I would say particularly the concept of a pretribulation rapture. The main Scriptures that many believe, myself included, indicate a pretribulation rapture of the church, which is different from and occurs before the second coming of Jesus Christ, and which will happen before the start of the 7-year time of Jacob’s trouble (tribulation period), are shown below.

“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump [trumpet]: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” (1 Corinthians 15:50-54)

“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep [dead], that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which are asleep [dead]. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump [trumpet] of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

“For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised up from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.” (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10)

“For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves another, and edify one another, even as also ye do.” (1 Thessalonians 5:9-11)

The last book of the Bible, Revelation, discusses all of the judgments that will occur upon the earth during the 7-year time of Jacob’s trouble, also known as the tribulation period. During this time, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, will bring His judgments upon a wicked and vile world, during a period with the purpose of opening the eyes of unbelieving Israel who have rejected their Messiah, Jesus Christ. While Jesus was here the first time, He told His apostles about this 7-year period:

“For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake [chosen ones] those days shall be shortened.” (Jesus Christ; Matthew 24:22)

Gotquestions.org has several articles that do a good job of discussing the rapture and listing the Scriptures that support it and on the varying views on when it will occur:

Dr. Andy Woods at Sugarland Bible Church has done a comprehensive, 71-part sermon study on the rapture, and his videos can be found on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTUQ-6Lg74Xw_AVV7S2N74iv7Dq2pZn_R.

Another fact that has been used to support the concept of a pretribulation rapture is the usage of the word “church” in the book of Revelation; where it is found and where it is not found. (See: https://www.gotquestions.org/pretribulationism.html)

“Pretribulationism also finds support in what is not found in Scripture. The word “church” appears nineteen times in the first three chapters of Revelation, but, significantly, the word is not used again until chapter 22. In other words, in the entire lengthy description of the Tribulation in Revelation, the word church is noticeably absent. In fact, the Bible never uses the word "church" in a passage relating to the Tribulation.”

This definitely aligns with the fact that this 7-year period of time is called “the time of Jacob’s trouble,” where Jacob is Israel. We know that God renamed Jacob to “Israel” in Genesis 35:10. This is the time period the Bible speaks of when God turns His attention back to Israel:

“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: for this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.” (Romans 11:25-27)

No surprisingly, the mainstream media is mocking the concept of a rapture. One such article was posted on in September 2022 by CNN titled, “For some Christians, ‘rapture anxiety’ can take a lifetime to heal.” (See: https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/27/us/rapture-anxiety-evangelical-exvangelical-christianity-cec/index.html) But it’s not limited to those outside of a church. It is also happening from those within the church, with some saying the rapture was an idea invented by John Darby, that the rapture is a lie, and even calling it a “Satanic deception” (See: https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1051&context=pretrib_arch)

Whether you believe in a rapture and the timing of it is up to you. I am doing my best to understand the Scriptures through the guiding and teaching of the Holy Spirit within me. Given the Scriptures I have previously listed and the fact that we have a precedent of when God snatched, took, caught up to Himself both Enoch (Genesis 5:21-24) and Elijah when they were alive, I do not think it illogical that the church can be raptured and that it will happen before the start of the 7-year time of Jacob’s trouble. However, my understanding is limited based on my knowledge of the Bible, and so is everyone else’s. I believe that if God wanted us to know every exact detail and timing of the events, He would have written the Bible that way, but He didn’t. He wants us to be ready for His Son’s return at all times, not being caught off-guard, and we can only do that by putting our faith and trust in Him alone for our salvation. I won’t mock my brothers and sisters if they have a different view of the rapture than I have. I believe that as the prophetic events foretold long ago continue to unfold, and are fulfilled before our very eyes, we will have a better understanding of those yet to be fulfilled. For example, there were believers who did not believe in a literal fulfillment of the Jews’ returning to Israel prior to the rebirth of the Jewish nation in May 1948. There were believers who did not believe in a literal mark of the beast because not that long ago, it was not possible to restrict the buying and selling of every single person on earth, but I believe we are getting very close to having that technology in place, and it may be in place already and we just have not seen it implemented yet.

So, the mockers will mock, and the scoffers will scoff, to their own peril, for they willfully choose to remain in their sin, walking after their ungodly lusts, having rejected the free gift of salvation and refusing to turn to Jesus Christ. As a believer in Christ and having put my faith and trust in Him alone for my salvation, I must not let the mocking and scoffing get me down and depressed, for I know this must happen before Jesus calls up His bride up to Himself in the clouds, followed by the time of Jacob’s trouble, and Jesus’ second coming to the earth to put an end to wickedness and depravity. My hope is not in this world; my hope is in Jesus, and I know one day soon, He will appear in all His glory, and oh, what a day that will be!

”Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.” (Psalm 33:18-22)

“My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.” (Psalm 62:5-8)

“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection [mind] on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1-4) ✝️

January 1, 2024: Jude 16 - Deceivers Flatter You in Your Sin

“These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.” (Jude 16)

When we don’t like where we are in our life, when we are not content with what we have and with our status in our life, our natural, ungodly reaction is to complain and whine. We become envious of those who have what we want and who are in positions we would like to be in. When we don’t acknowledge what sin is - an offense to God - and we desire to remain in our sin, we rebel against God and for some professing Christians, we rebel against those called by God to preach and teach his word. We complain against God, saying He is too rigid and His standards need to be revised to align with society’s demands. The same is true for the apostate, false teachers in churches. When this type of sin enters us, it makes us vulnerable to being led astray by the one who wants our soul but not in a good way, the one who is Satan, the devil. When pastors, who may seemingly have been solid in their preachings and teachings at one point in their ministry, begin to grow leery of teaching the words of God that now have become offensive to an ever-changing society and instead avoid preaching on them or altering them so that they no longer speak the truth, the outcome of that kind of preaching is exactly what we see in our world today: people who go to church, perhaps on a regular basis, but who never learn the truth of God and who are being willfully deceived by Satan.

Since I have been alive, I can see that deception is at an all time high all around the world. How do you deceive people? Well, some of the ways are to make them think that God is not real but evolution is, that there is not only one way to heaven, that the devil, also called Satan, and hell are not real, and that God thinks it is perfectly fine for you to remain in your sinful lifestyles after you profess to having accepted Jesus as your Savior because after all, those lifestyles are accepted by our world as “good.” Other ways include denying that Jesus is the Christ, that we all worship the same “God” no matter what religion we follow, that if we follow Jesus, He will make us rich because that is what He wants for us, He will heal us from every disease, and we will never suffer or have troubles in our life again. Other tools of deception are that we are to worship “Mother Earth” or the “Queen of Heaven” and to approve of abortion as “reproductive rights.” As radical as it may have sounded twenty years ago, there are even some in the “church” that promote abortion as a good thing, even “blessing” abortion clinics.

One of the key tools of deception Satan is using is the issue of sexuality. The Bible is clear on where God stands regarding this issue: God made man and woman; those are the only sexes He created. We are not to try and change ourselves to become the opposite sex; we cannot change our genetic makeup that exists within us as either a man or a woman. God has made it clear in His word that sexual intercourse between anyone and anything other than between a man and a woman who are married is a sin. The world, especially in America, has become extremely intolerant of God’s stance on sexuality and has become paganized in its embracing and promoting that which God calls sin. Satan has twisted everything that God calls sin and has made it “good,” and this is happening all around the world. On December 28, 2023, an article on Breitbart the Methodist “Church” of Great Britain now finds the usage of the terms “husband” and “wife” as offensive: (See: https://www.breitbart.com/faith/2023/12/28/the-methodist-church-of-great-britain-labels-terms-husband-and-wife-offensive/)

“The Methodist Church of Great Britain has called on its ministers, deacons, and elders to stop using offensive terminology such as “husband” and “wife” to avoid making assumptions that are not “the reality for many people.”

“The church added the changes to its “Inclusive Language Guide,” an initiative aimed at preventing the use of “hurtful language” directed at groups the Methodist Church believes have been “marginalised and/or demonised by common culture.” The church plans to update the Inclusive Language Guide every six months to avoid using language that could offend groups it perceives as marginalized.

“The church wants its leaders to begin using terms such as “partner,” “child,” and “parent” as a way of recognizing that “relationships come in many varied expressions.””

This “church” is just on example of the many false pastors and teachers that have crept in unawares to churches and have caused the church to become an apostate church that the apostles warned about would come in the last days. On December 19, 2023, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope, announced the “church” would approve of priests “blessing” same-sex couples and yet still saying that they cannot be married. (See: https://apnews.com/article/vatican-lgbtq-pope-bfa5b71fa79055626e362936e739d1d8). This pope is playing both sides because he cares more about appeasing what the ungodly world says about homosexuality than obeying what the word of God says. Why would he “bless” something that which God calls a sin? Sin is sin, and we all struggle with it. I have sinful thoughts in my mind every single day, and I must fight against my sinful nature and to overcome it with what the word of God says and through the power of the Holy Spirit who resides within me. As a believer in Jesus Christ, it is never okay for me to just give in to my sin because that is what my mind wants me to do. To have true love for someone is to show them what the word of God says and to pray for them and to help them, if they will accept help, to turn away from their sins. The only thing these apostates are doing is leading their flocks straight into the pit of hell because they do not worship the One true God. It is one thing to turn to Jesus Christ while we are in our sins, to be saved by Him, and then let the Holy Spirit convict us of our sin, of righteousness, and judgment, and let Him change us so that we come out of our sinful lifestyles and stop practicing them. However, this is not what these apostate churches are doing. They are approving of the sinful lifestyles and telling people that it’s okay to remain in them. That is not loving people but it is condemning them; they have dropped a little bit of poison in with their sweet tasting words, while in the end, the person who swallows the poison is condemned because they are not saved and have believed their lies. The word of God is clear:

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators [sexually immoral], nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate [homosexuals], nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:10)

Romans 1:18-32 speaks about people who deny God, even though He has made Himself evident from the creation of the world, and because of that, they have no excuse:

“Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools…Wherefore God also them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust toward one another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense [penalty] of their error which was meet [due]. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate [strife], deceit, malignity [evil-mindedness], whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful [violent], proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenadntbreakers, without natural affection, implacable [unforgiving], unmerciful: who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” (Romans 1:19-32)

Does this sound to you like God blesses those who are living sinful lifestyles? Absolutely not! Anyone who promotes anyone in the lifestyles listed above are deceivers and are leading themselves and others straight to the pit of hell. I want to reiterate that we are ALL sinners in need of the Savior. We do not have to clean ourselves up before turning to Jesus, and honestly, it’s impossible to do that without having the Holy Spirit within us because only Jesus can wash of our sins. However, after we are saved, we must not remain in our sin, and instead, we rely upon the Holy Spirit to help us make the changes in our lives that will bring us out of it. Let us read what the apostle Paul wrote next in 1 Corinthians 6:

“And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified [set apart], but ye are justified [declared righteous] in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11)

Paul didn’t say that they were still committing the sins listed in 1 Corinthians 6:10 and it was okay because the Pope “blessed” them in it or because the world said it was acceptable to do them; no, they had stopped doing those sinful things because they had been washed, sanctified, and justified by their faith in Jesus Christ. This aligns perfectly with what Jesus said to the woman caught in the act of adultery when her accusers brought her to Jesus for her to be stoned. Jesus had told her accusers that anyone of them who had no sin was to cast the first stone at her. When no one did and her accusers left her and Jesus, He asked her where were her accusers and had no one condemned her. She answered Jesus and said no man had accused her. Jesus then said to her:

“Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” (Jesus Christ; John 8:11)

Jesus did not tell her that He blessed her in her sinful lifestyle; no, He told her, “Go, and sin no more.” He was speaking of this particular sin that was a stumbling block in her life, which was adultery. He followed that by saying that anyone who follows Him, meaning to believe in Him for their salvation of sins, should not walk in darkness but in the light. Sin equates to darkness, and our world today is extremely dark in its sin. Jesus Christ convicted the apostle Paul when he was called Saul, a Jewish Pharisee and religious leader, and who was walking in darkness and persecuting the early believers in Christ. Jesus blinded Saul with His light, and Saul became a believer in Jesus. Jesus then began calling him “Paul” and told him he was to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, the non-Jews:

“To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” (Jesus Christ; Acts 26:18)

Paul would later write of the darkness that is in the world and what it is we fight against in our walk of faith:

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

Satan is the current ruler of this world, of this age, and all the fallen angels who have allied themselves with him, and he is using people all around the world to carry out his sinful schemes, and that includes using deceivers in the church. Satan wants mankind to remain in its sin and not only to remain in it but to lift it up, elevating sin so that it saturates the world in the entertainment and music industries, in governments, education, media, and also in the churches. Satan wants us to remain in the darkness and not turn to the light of Jesus Christ and be saved by believing in and trusting in Him for salvation. Paul wrote about this:

“But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:3-6)

As Jude wrote, these deceivers that have crept in unawares in the churches truly are “walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage” because they have given in to the demands of a society that does not want the truth of God, which convicts us of our sin, but wants the smooth lies of Satan. Just as Satan asked Eve in the garden when he deceived her by causing her to question what God had said to Adam, “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (Genesis 3:1) and following that up with an outright lie, “Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5), so is he causing us to question God’s word and lying to us about it. When you refuse to believe in God and all that He has said in His word, then you are an easy target for Satan, and you will succumb to your sins, will be denied entry into the eternal kingdom of God, and spend your eternity in darkness, in hell, for you chose darkness over light, sin over salvation, and evil over good.

As a believer in Jesus Christ and one who has put her faith and trust in Him for my salvation, I fight every day against sin and it is a battle that my brothers and sisters also fight, including the apostle Paul:

“The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering [licentiousness] and wantonness [lewdness], not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” (Romans 13:12-14)

Read the words above and compare them to what is being preached and taught in many “churches” today; they are in complete contrast to each other. Instead of pastors telling their congregants that the word of God tells them to “cast off the works of darkness” and “make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof,” they are not only telling them it is okay for them to remain in their sinful lifestyles but they will also “bless” them and make accommodations for them by changing the words of God to make them less “offensive” and “more inclusive” and to make them comfortable in their sin. All I can say to them is to repeat what Jude said, “Woe unto them!” (Jude 11)

We each have a decision to make: will we walk according to the course of this world or will we make no provision for the flesh and put on the Lord Jesus Christ? Again, notice in the Scripture verses below, Paul says that “wherein time past ye walked according to the course of this world” where the verb “walked” is past tense and not present tense. If we truly are letting Jesus lead us in our new life of being born again through Him, we should have a change in our lives that reflects light and not darkness, the things of Him and not the things of Satan:

“And you hath he quickened [made alive], who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: among whom also we all had our conversation [conducted ourselves] in times past in the lusts of our flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others…For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:1-3, 10)

As the social and political pressure is applied even more to those of us who have put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ for our salvation, there is a line being drawn that is dividing the wheat, the true believers in Jesus, from the tares (chaff), the pretenders. Unlike Satan, who flatters you and promotes you in your sin so that he can deceive you and steal your soul, God will not flatter you in your sin; He gives you the truth so that you can decide for yourself where you want to spend your eternity. Will you be thrown into the fiery furnace or shine in the kingdom of God?

“Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world [age]; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world [age]. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity [practice lawlessness]; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” (Jesus Christ; Matthew 13:36-43)

I do not think it is by chance that in the first chapter of the book of Romans, before the apostle Paul wrote about the wrath of God and the circumstances in which God would give people over three times: 1) to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, 2) to their vile affections, and 3) to a reprobate mind, Paul wrote this:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first and also to the Greek For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17)

As we enter into what I believe will be a very difficult year, I pray that we live by our faith in Jesus Christ, not being ashamed of His gospel, and not caving to the darkness but shining the light of Jesus to a world that is desperately in need of Him. 🙏🏻 ✝️

December 27, 2023: Jude 14-15 - The Lord Cometh to Execute Judgment Upon All

“And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince [convict] all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” - Jude 14-15

In verse 14 of this book, Jude references a prophecy of Enoch. Before we consider the prophecy itself, let us discuss a little bit about who Enoch was. Jude distinguishes the Enoch to whom he is referring by telling us that this Enoch is the seventh from Adam. Prior to this Enoch, there was another, who was the son of Cain (Genesis 4:17). Cain committed the first murder in mankind after the fall in the Garden when he killed his brother Abel. The Enoch to whom Jude is referring was the seventh from Adam:

  1. Adam

  2. Seth

  3. Enos (or Enosh)

  4. Cainan

  5. Mahalaleel (or Maleleel)

  6. Jared

  7. Enoch

The number seven in the Bible represents completeness or divine perfection, and the Bible uses this number many times in that context, including:

  • In the beginning, in six days God made the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them, including man and woman, and God rested on the seventh day. “And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” (Genesis 2:2-3)

  • The book of Leviticus describes God’s commandment for Israel to have seven periods of seven years, totaling 49 years and at the end of the 49th year, the 50th year would be the Year of the Jubilee, when all debts were forgiven and all slaves were released. It would also be a year when the land would rest and not be farmed:

“Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; but in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land. And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee, and for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat. And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years. Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which growth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed.” (Leviticus 25:3-11)

  • After Moses died and God had chosen Joshua to lead the children of Israel into the Promised Land, God told Joshua He was giving Jericho into his hand. God told Joshua that for six days, Joshua and his men should march around the city once a day. He was to take with them seven priests bearing “before the ark of the covenant seven trumpets of rams’ horns” and they were to blow their trumpets. However, Joshua told them not to shout or make any other noise with their voice until he told them to. On the seventh day, God told Joshua to tell the men:

“And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the rams’ horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.” (Joshua 6:4-5)

  • Chapter 9 verses 24-27 of the book of Daniel contain a seventy weeks’ prophecy, where each week is a period of seven years. Gotquestions.org has a good article that explains the prophecy (see: https://www.gotquestions.org/seventy-weeks.html). To summarize, the angel Gabriel gave Daniel a prophecy of the future when Jerusalem would be rebuilt, when Messiah would come and be cut off (i.e., crucified and die, all of which would happen in a period of 69 7-year weeks, or 483 years. All of this happened as Daniel prophesied. One week remains left in the prophecy that has not yet been fulfilled, and that is when the final Antichrist will confirm a covenant with many for one week and will commit the abomination of desolation:

“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even the consummation, and that determined shall be poured out on the desolate.” (Daniel 9:24-27)

  • In the days of Noah when God sent a worldwide flood to destroy all of mankind and the land animals because they had all been corrupted, God had told Noah to bring seven pairs of males and females of each clean beast into the ark. After the waters flooded the earth and the waters finally abated, “And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.” (Genesis 8:4)

  • Jesus made seven “I Am” statements about Himself to His disciples:

  1. “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)

  2. “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

  3. “Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.” (John 10:7)

  4. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)

  5. “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead yet shall he live.” (John 11:25)

  6. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)

  7. I am the true vine and my Father is the husbandman.” (John 15:1)

  • The last book of the Bible, which is titled “The Revelation of Jesus Christ”, where “revelation” literally means “unveiling or disclosure” is filled with the usage of the number seven. In this book, an angel gave to the apostle John visions of the things that would come upon this world, including the 7-year tribulation period, also called the time of Jacob’s trouble, which is the 70th week spoken of by Daniel in his prophecy. Revelation prophesies of the second coming of Christ, His 1,000-year millennial reign on earth, and the creation of a new heaven, a new earth, and the holy city new Jerusalem, when all who have believed on Jesus Christ as their Savior will live with Him and sin will be no more, for Satan and everyone who rejected Christ will have been cast into the lake of fire. In my examples of the usage of the number seven in Revelation, because there are numerous references to them throughout the book, I have only included the first reference of them.

  1. Seven letters to seven churches in Asia: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. (Revelation 2-3)

  2. Seven Spirits (Revelation 1:4). I agree with gotquestions.org (See: https://www.gotquestions.org/seven-spirits-God.html) that these seem to be the seven aspects or characters of the Holy Spirit that rest on Jesus Messiah, as written by Isaiah in Isaiah 11:2 (1-Spirit of the Lord, 2-Spirit of wisdom, 3-Spirit of understanding, 4-Spirit of counsel, 5-Spirit of might, 6-Spirit of knowledge, 7-Spirit of the fear of the LORD).

  3. Seven stars representing the angels or messengers of the seven churches, and seven golden candlesticks representing the seven churches in Asia. (Revelation 1:20)

  4. A scroll that is sealed with seven seals that only Jesus Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, is worthy to open. (Revelation 5:1-5) These are the seven seal judgments. The opening of the first seal starts the period of the 7-year time of Jacob’s trouble. Jesus is described here as a Lamb that had been slain and has “seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.” (Revelation 5:6)

  5. Seven blessings to God from all in the heavenly realm who are around God’s throne and worship God: 1-Blessing, 2-Glory, 3-Wisdom, 4-Thanksgiving, 5-Honour, 6-Power, 7-Might:

    “Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.” (Revelation 7:12)

  6. Seven angels sounding seven trumpet judgments. (Revelation 8:1)

  7. Seven angels having seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, the last of the 21 judgments of God during the time of Jacob’s trouble. These are also known as the seven bowl judgments. (Revelation 15:1, 7)

Further, in the book of Luke, Luke 3:2-38, it names the genealogy of Jesus, from Joseph, Mary’s husband, all the way back to Adam. Enoch is listed in this genealogy. I do not believe it is any coincidence that the number of generations listed is 70. These are just some of the examples of the usage of the number seven in the Bible.

There is something else that is interesting about Enoch. He was only one of two men who never died and were taken up to God. The other man was the prophet Elijah, who spoke against the wicked King Ahab, who was the king of Israel when Israel was divided into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. Elijah also spoke against the false prophets of the false god Baal, and along with Elijah’s men, killed all of them as God commanded. Let’s read what the Bible tells us about how Elijah was taken up to heaven:

“And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha [Elijah’s successor] from Gilgal…And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder [separated the two of them]; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.” (2 Kings 2:9, 11)

After Elijah was taken up to heaven, Elisha, his successor, put on his mantle, which was a robe or cloak and a symbol of Elijah’s authority as a prophet of God. Elisha then was approached by sons of the prophets who wanted to send fifty men to go and look for Elijah in the event “the Spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley.” (2 Kings 2:16). Elisha told them not to send the men to look for Elijah, but they insisted and he approved their request. The men searched for three days but did not find Elijah.

Regarding Enoch, we know very little about him except what the word of God tells us:

“And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch: and Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: and all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died. And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: and Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and beget sons and daughters: and all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: and Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” (Genesis 5:18-24)

“By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:5-6)

Enoch made such an impact on God that God listed him in what is known to many as the “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews chapter 11. This chapter names people in the Old Testament who, despite their circumstances, were faithful to God. Enoch was also Noah’s great grandfather. Enoch’s son was Methuselah, and his son was Lamech, Enoch’s grandson. Lamech had Noah, Enoch’s great grandson. Noah is also named in the “Hall of Faith.” There was obviously something about Enoch and Noah that God recognized them for their faith in Him.

The Bible tells us there were ten generations from Adam until Noah. At that time before the flood, people lived a very long time, up to 800-900+ years, and there would have been a lot of people alive at the time of the flood. Out of all these people, it is only Enoch and Noah that it is said they walked with God. We know that God sent the flood to destroy all of mankind because man had become wicked and “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5) The Bible also tells us that God not only destroyed all of mankind with the flood but also every beast, creeping thing, and the birds on the earth, for they had been corrupted. This corruption seems to speak of some sort of genetic manipulation because what other way could these animals, insects, and birds have been corrupted? Are we not doing that same type of thing in the times in which we live by genetically modifying organisms and feeding them to people and also to other animals? In an article by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from February 17, 2022 states, “More than 95% of animals used for meat and dairy in the United States eat GMO crops.” (See: https://www.fda.gov/food/agricultural-biotechnology/gmo-crops-and-food-animals) The animals eat these genetically modified crops and then humans eat those animals. Our food supply has been corrupted by people. Is it any surprise that we have seen a surge in Americans who are lactose intolerant and have gluten and other food-related allergies?

Enoch was taken up to God before He sent the flood upon the earth.I have heard it said that Enoch represents God’s church, those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ, both those who have already died and those who are alive at that time, who will be caught up to God in the rapture of the church prior to the start of the 7-year tribulation period or time of Jacob’s trouble, and that Noah represents the Jews who are alive on earth and come to faith in Jesus Christ after the rapture and who are protected by God during the time of Jacob’s trouble. Though this is not stated in the Scriptures, it is something to consider.

I know I am sidetracking a little here, but let’s dig a little deeper in the Scriptures. In the book of Revelation chapter 12, there is a statement made that I have always wondered about. Chapter 12 discusses a vision the apostle John had of “a great wonder in heaven” in which he describes the woman (Israel) who gave birth to a child (Jesus), who would rule the earth with a rod of iron and that He (Jesus) was caught up to God and His throne, and a dragon (Satan) and one third of the angels who were ready to kill the child as soon as it was born. It goes on to describe a war in heaven with Michael the archangel and his angels fighting against Satan and the angels who are with him and against God and Michael cast them out of heaven and down to the earth. Satan then persecutes the woman (Israel). Have we not seen the persecution of Israel increasing over time, especially during World War II and most recently since the massacres of October 7, 2023 in Israel? The Bible tells us this will continue to increase significantly during the midpoint of the 7-year tribulation period. It is at that point when the final Antichrist, who at the start of the tribulation period confirms a covenant or treaty that he will make with many (Daniel 9:27), and at the midpoint, 3-1/2 years, into the covenant he will commit an act of abomination in the third Jewish temple that will be built sometime in the future. It is as that point that the Jews (Israel) will realize the Antichrist is not the man of peace and safety they thought he was and will flee to the wilderness. There are some who believe this wilderness is located in Petra, Jordan. It is thought that Petra is the city called “Sela” in the Bible. “Petra” and “Sela” mean “crag, cliff, or rock.” Looking at photos of Petra, you can see buildings and temples carved right into the mountains and cliffs of the city. Revelation 12:14 tells us Israel will remain there for 3-1/2 years and will be nourished and it is implied that it is God Himself who nourishes or provides for Israel to protect them “from the face of the serpent [Satan]” who seeks to destroy them. It is very interesting that in Revelation 6:12-16, it discusses the judgments of the sixth seal judgment that are cosmic disturbances and when people all over the earth will run for their lives to caves and mountains from the wrath of the Lamb (Jesus). However, in this case, it does not say that God protects them, as He does with Israel in the wilderness:

“And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens [caves] and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and the rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” (Revelation 6:15-17)

On March 1, 2023 businessinsider.com wrote an article about the superrich people of the world who are building underground bunkers to save them from a coming apocalypse (See: https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-inside-luxury-bunkers-ultra-rich-prepare-for-doomsday-2022-9). Just recently on December 21, 2023, it was reported that Facebook founder and one of the most wealthiest men in the world, Mark Zuckerberg, is building an underground bunker in Hawaii (See: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/21/mark-zuckerberg-apocalypse-bunker-hawaii). These types of “doomsday apocalypse” bunkers are becoming more prevalent, but for those who choose to accept Satan as their “god” and reject Jesus Christ, nothing will be able to protect them from the wrath of the Lamb.

Now, back to the part in Revelation 12 that has piqued my interest and it is in reference to a flood. After Israel flees to the wilderness and is nourished or protected by God for 3-1/2 years from Satan:

“And the serpent [Satan-see Rev 12:9] cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman [Israel], that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” (Revelation 12:15-17)

I do not know for certain if the flood spoken of in the verses above is a literal flood or figurative. The first part seems to imply it is a figurative flood since it says “as a flood” but the second part that says the “earth helped the woman” and “swallowed up the flood” seems to imply it might be a literal flood. However, it could be literal in the sense that there is a flood of evil literally coming to the wilderness against Israel by those who are allied with Satan and the earth will literally swallow them up. We do have a precedent where the earth has swallowed up the wicked when Israel was in the wilderness after Moses led them out of Egypt and Korah and his men rebelled against Moses and Aaron:

“And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, what time the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men: and they became a sign.” (Numbers 26:10)

There is another flood reference in the Bible and that is in Daniel chapter 9, which is Daniel’s 70-weeks prophesy for Israel. In verse 26 it prophesies of the coming Messiah, who will be “cut off,” meaning crucified. Daniel then prophecies that Jerusalem and the temple will be destroyed:

“And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.” (Daniel 9:26)

We now know that it was the Romans who destroyed Jerusalem and the Jewish temple in 70
AD; thus, the “prince that shall come,” who is the final Antichrist, will be from the Roman Empire, which had a Western and Eastern leg. This destruction of Jerusalem and the temple did come as a flood to Israel when it was overwhelmed by the Roman army.

Back to Revelation 12:14-17, we do know that this point in the time of Jacob’s trouble, Satan will throw everything he has at Israel as he tries to destroy them once and for all. It could be symbolic for the flood of persecution that comes against Israel during this time. We know that no one will come to the aid of Israel and it will be the earth itself who helps Israel. Are we not already seeing the foreshadows of this today with the increased persecution against Israel and the raging of people calling for the death and destruction of Israel? As the Bible tells us, this will increase and Jerusalem itself will become a cup of trembling or a burdensome stone for all people:

“The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.” (Zechariah 12:1-3)

As with the literal flood that occurred during Noah’s days, when only a very small remnant of mankind survived - Noah and his family, eight people in total - so too will it be during the last half of the tribulation period, the time of Jacob’s trouble, when only a remnant of the Jews will survive. These are the seed or the offspring of the woman, who is Israel. We are also told in Revelation 12:17 that this remnant will “keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” These are the Jewish people who, before the tribulation period started did not believe in Jesus as their Savior, will come to belief in Him during the tribulation period. This remnant of Israel is also discussed in Zechariah 13:8-9:

“And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.” (Zechariah 13:8-9)

This is why the tribulation period is called the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7), meaning Israel’s trouble, but in the end, God will restore His people, the Jews, who will finally believe in Jesus as their Messiah.

Now, back to today’s Scripture verses in Jude 14-15. While the Bible does not contain this prophecy of Enoch that Jude wrote about, it was obviously made known to Jude. Let’s read again what Jude says of Enoch’s prophecy:

“And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” (Jude 14-15)

Did you catch the fact that this prophecy Jude quoted from Enoch was made long, long ago before the first coming of Jesus? As Jude wrote, Enoch was the seventh generation from Adam and he made this prophecy. This prophecy is strikingly similar to what the apostle John wrote in the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, at Jesus’ second coming when he comes to earth with the armies of heaven who are clothed in white linen. These are the bride of Christ, the saints (Revelation 19:7-8), who have believed in Jesus as their Savior, and come with Jesus when He executes judgment:

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture [robe] dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite [strike] the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh, a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” (Revelation 19:11-16)

Notice that Enoch’s prophecy tells us on whom judgment would be executed, and it is the ungodly. While Jude’s book is written in the context of the ungodly men who had crept in unawares, “turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Jude 4) the prophecy of Enoch is written to all people and to tell them that the Lord Jesus will come with His saints to “execute judgment upon all” and to convince, meaning to convict, all of the ungodly. We know that other Scriptures in the Bible warn us that in the end times before the second coming of Jesus that mankind will grow increasingly wicked, both with unbelievers but also in the professing churches. Jesus Himself warned His disciples about this as a sign of the end of the age and before His return, and Paul also wrote about this apostasy that will take place in the churches:

“And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity [lawlessness] shall abound, the love of many shall wax [grow] cold.” (Jesus Christ; Matthew 24:11-12)

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent [without self-control], fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady [haughty], high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.” (2 Timothy 3:1-9)

Notice that Paul said that these people have “a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof” and that we are to “turn away” from them. They pretend to be of God, called by the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit is not in them.

In Jude 15, the prophecy of Enoch used the word “ungodly” four times:

  1. Ungodly among them

  2. Ungodly deeds

  3. Ungodly committed

  4. Ungodly sinners

There is nothing godly about the ungodly. Though they may be in a church, their ungodliness separates them from true believers in Jesus Christ. They are tares, or weeds, false converts, pretending to be the wheat, the true believers in Jesus Christ. However, God knows His own, and they are not them. They may be able to fool themselves and the people in these churches who come to listen to them preach their feel-good-in-your-sins messages and do not want to follow the One true God but a counterfeit version of Him, but they cannot fool God. The very first psalm in the book of Psalms warns us of the ungodly. We are not to walk in their ways, or stand with them as they promote their ungodly ways, or be like them:

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” (Psalm 1:1)

Psalm 1:5 reminds us what the future holds in store for the ungodly:

“For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” (Psalm 1:5)

We have many people who call themselves “pastors,” others in church leadership, and many in their congregations today in America and around the world who have gone the way of the wicked, the way of the ungodly world. They truly are trying to gain acceptance of the ungodly world instead of obeying God and His commandments to be set apart from the world. Jesus talked about what the future holds for the tares that pretend to be the wheat, the true believers of God:

“He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world [age]. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity [practice lawlessness]. And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” (Jesus Christ; Matthew 13:37-42)

Jesus has warned us time and time again in His word, the Bible, of what will become of all who choose darkness over light, sin over salvation, evil over good, but most people could care less what Jesus told us. Instead, they are embracing the darkness, with even many professing Christians sitting in the pews of their false churches, listening to a watered-down sermon that is far from the truth of God. It reminds me of the Laodicean church in Revelation 3:14-22, where Jesus is standing outside, knocking on the door of the church:

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup [dine] with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” (Jesus
Christ; Revelation 3:20-21)

Jesus wants to save us. He wants us to admit that we are sinners in need of the Savior, and believe in Him as the One sent by God, His only begotten Son, to take away the sins of the world, and to take of his free gift of salvation. The only way we can be washed clean from all our sins is through Jesus, and when we do that, we will be allowed entry into His eternal kingdom and spend our eternity with Him. We are all ungodly sinners committing ungodly deeds, every single one of us. If we refuse to believe it, it doesn’t matter; it is the truth. The good news is that Christ died for the ungodly so that we can be saved from his wrath when He comes to judge the ungodly world: but we must choose to turn to Jesus, to turn away from our sins and to turn to Him, trusting in and allowing Him to save us from all our sins.

“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure [perhaps] for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” (Romans 5:6-11)

But we must choose to turn to Jesus, to turn away from our sins and to turn to Him, trusting in and allowing Him to save us from all our sins. It is a free gift, the Greatest Gift, ever known to mankind. Will you reject this gift or will you accept it? The choice is yours alone to make. If you choose to reject it, you will have no one to blame but yourself when judgment comes, and it surely will. ✝️

December 15, 2023: Jude 12-13 - Church, It is Time to Wake Up!

“These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever." - Jude 12-13

Jude wrote this book, which though small in size, is packed with powerful words of warning to the church: deceivers have come in unnoticed and have corrupted the church. We are told in other books of the Bible that as we draw closer to the second coming of Jesus and the end of the age, there will be a great falling away, an apostasy of the church, when the church is offended by and abandons the truth and turns to deceivers instead:

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

“And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” (Jesus Christ; Matthew 24:10-12)

When the apostles of Jesus asked him what would be the signs of his coming and of the end of the age, he answered them:

“Take heed that no man deceives you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” (Jesus Christ; Matthew 24:4-5)

These deceivers are preaching doctrines of devils that go against what God has written in His word and are leading many down the wide gate and broad road that leads to hell, eternal darkness and suffering, forever separated by God. These deceivers, who claim to be called by God, are not feeding their congregations the word of God and the whole counsel of God but feed them lies to keep the money coming in, and money is their God. They pretend to care about their flocks, those who attend their churches, but feed only themselves, in lavish abundance. How many mega churches have we read about that receive hundreds of millions of dollars in tithes and offerings, where instead of those donations being used to share God’s word around the world and to help those truly in need, are used to fund the extravagant lifestyles of the senior pastor, his family, and his staff? Sadly, many churches in America are simply money-making machines, where the pastors go to theological seminaries not to learn, preach, and teach on God’s word but instead learn how to grow the church by being “seeker-friendly” and preaching and teaching not what on people need to hear but what they want to hear to tickle their ears, to approve them in their sin. Many “churches” are no longer filled with light but have become darkened, looking like stages for rock concerts, complete with “worship” bands singing “worship” songs that could be about one’s boyfriend or girlfriend and are completely devoid of the name of Jesus and the message of salvation through faith in Him alone.

How many deceivers absolutely will not preach on anything that is considered offensive to our ever-changing society because they don’t want to lose their source of funding for their lavish and lascivious lifestyles? If anyone reads these devotional posts that I write, they might say that I write about this subject a lot. My answer to that comment is, why wouldn’t I? The prophets and apostles of God wrote about it and specifically included it as a warning to those of us living in the end times so that we would not fall prey to these deceivers and turn away from God. Our country is imploding, and I put part of the blame on the churches. Why have many of the seminaries abandoned the truth and caved to society, letting society dictate what is taught instead of preaching and teaching what is in the unchanging word of God? As the seminaries have drifted further and further away from God, the more our society has broken down. It is up to the churches to pushback unashamedly against corruption in society and to stand for God’s truth. Society should not alter the church; the church should alter society. However, the opposite has happened. The false pastors that have come out of the seminaries are the by-products of a nation that has left God and has embraced all that God calls evil and rejected all that God calls good. Don’t get me wrong, there is a market for these so-called pastors, with many false pastors thriving. It’s not just televangelists either; it’s in mainstream churches. It can also be very subtle. While they may preach on certain books of the Bible according to the word of God, they avoid preaching on anything that is considered controversial in society, such as abortion, all the various forms of sexual immorality in both heterosexual and homosexual lifestyles, and Bible prophecy. The absence of speaking the truth of God on these subjects speaks volumes as to where their priority lies, and it is not the one true God but the false god of money.

“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily [secretly] shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious [destructive] ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned [deceptive] words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” (2 Peter 2:1-3)

Let’s look at what Jude wrote in verses 12 and 13 about these men. Jude calls them “spots” in their feasts of charity. A Greek interpretation uses “spilades,” which means “hidden reef,” and it does seem to coincide with the rest of verses 12 and 13. A hidden reef can pose a significant danger to ships on the sea, especially in the days of Jude when sonar technology did not exist. The reef, covered by the water of the sea, would only make itself known when it was too late: the ship would come upon the reef and strike it, sinking the ship to the bottom of the sea. Perhaps these men who had crept in unawares were like these hidden reefs, blending in, covered by the sea of the false church. These deceivers feed themselves extravagantly and without fear of being uncovered, for they are filled with pride and lust for the things of this world instead of the things of God. When those do not know the word of God listen to these deceivers and do not realize they are being deceived, like the ship that came upon the hidden reef, when they die in their sin, they are sunk to the deep darkness, forever separated by God and all that is good.

Next, Jude calls them clouds without water and carried about of winds. Oh, these false pastors and teachers know how to deliver great speeches and may be great orators, but they are like clouds that arise and deliver promises of nourishing rain to a dry and parched land. However, because the truth is not in them, they deliver nothing but their hot air and empty words, leaving their congregation even more thirsty for God and not realizing that only Jesus is the answer. The Bible tells us that only Jesus can quench our thirst and that is by truly believing in Him as our Savior:

“But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (Jesus Christ; John 4:14)

“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” (Jesus Christ; John 7:37-38)

Jude then compares them to trees that try to produce fruit but before that fruit comes to bear, it withers up. In order to produce the fruit of God, one must be filled with the Holy Spirit, and in order to have the Holy Spirit in us, we must put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ as the only one who can save us. For these deceivers, because the Holy Spirit is not in them, they do not having the living water of God in them and cannot bear fruit. The apostle Paul wrote about what the works of the flesh that are produced by those who do not have the Spirit in them and compared them to those who do have the Holy Spirit and produce the fruit of the Spirit:

“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.” (Galatians 5:16-26)

Paul was telling the people of Galatia not to let sin, the works of the flesh, rule over them, for he knows that if they do, it will destroy them and they will not inherit the kingdom of God. How many pastors in churches today are preaching Paul’s warning to their congregations? Given the state our world is in, I would venture to say not many.

Jesus Himself warned His disciples about false prophets and how to recognize them by their fruit:

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits yet shall know them.” (Jesus Christ; Matthew 7:15-20)

Instead striving to be more like Jesus and to separate ourselves from the world, the churches are trying to be more like the world; they are imitating it and not Christ. This is the exact opposite of what God’s word tells us we are to do:

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:1-2)

“I have given them [Jesus’ apostles and disciples] thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify [set apart] them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou has sent me.” (Jesus Christ; John 17:14-21)

These false pastors that produce no fruit will be plucked up by the roots and will be dead again. They may have had a false conversion of faith in Jesus Christ but are now once again, dead in their sins. Unlike believers in Christ who will die only one death and be resurrected to eternal life through Jesus, those who have not put their faith and trust in Him to save them from their sins will be resurrected to life after they die, will be judged by Jesus and found guilty in their sin, and will suffer a second death, which is to spend their eternity in hell, the lake of fire, forever separated from God.

Jude compared these deceivers to waves of the sea that during a storm, become larger and rage, and as a result, produce a foam. Having you ever heard Adolf Hitler speak? He would literally foam at the mouth as he delivered with great oratory power his evil speeches full of hate and deception, leading many people to blindly follow him and commit murder, particularly of the Jews. The same is happening now in the “church” pulpits that are being led by these deceivers. While they likely are not leading people to commit murder, they are leading people down the same road of deception that will result in their eternal destruction.

Jude wrote that these deceivers are “wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.” Because they do not have the Holy Spirit within them, guiding them into all truth, these deceivers wander around, here and there, just like wandering stars in the sky that are not gravitationally tied to any one galaxy. When a true pastor is called by God to preach and teach His word and is filled with the Holy Spirit, he is tied to the truth, which never changes, and his path remains steadfast and straight, aligned with God. Just as the wandering stars in the sky will remain in the blackness of darkness for ever, so will these deceivers spend their eternity in the blackness of darkness forever, along with everyone who has followed wickedness and evil and rejected the light of God and redemption of sins offered to them by Jesus Christ.

About 700 years before Jesus came to earth at His first coming, the prophet Isaiah wrote Him in the Old Testament and that those who follow Christ will not follow darkness and the way of the crooked paths, as these deceivers do:

“And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things [places] straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them. They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods. Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see.” (Isaiah 42:16-18)

When we believe in Jesus, He is our light and He guides our way, and we follow Him. We do not turn to the left or the right but we keep our eyes fixed on Him. We read His word, not some of it but all of it, letting the Holy Spirit guide us into all truth. We do not stagger like a drunken man, shifting here and there as the norms of society change as often as the winds blow.

We are in a spiritual war with Satan and those who are allied with him. Satan hates the Jews and he also hates Christians. In reality, he hates all of mankind because we are the only beings created in God’s image. Satan hates the Jews because God’s only begotten Son Jesus Christ came from them, the people chosen by God from whom the Savior would come. Satan hates Christians because we follow Jesus and believe in Him as our Savior. Satan hates Jesus because he knows, based on the Bible, the word of God, that there is coming a time when Jesus will judge the world of its sin and this includes judging Satan, the coming antichrist and false prophet, and all who are allied with them. Ultimately, all who come against Jesus will be destroyed from this earth, resurrected to life and be judged by Jesus and found guilty. They will be cast into the everlasting lake of fire, for they rejected the gift of eternal life that Jesus offered them when He paid the payment for our sins with His precious blood, and chose instead to follow Satan, also known as the devil, because they wanted to remain in their sin. Isn’t it ironic that the only book in the Bible that offers a blessing to those who read it and hear its words and heeds them is one of the books least likely to be preached on by pastors? It is also the same book that foretells the end of Satan and all who follow him. Now, if you were one’s enemy, wouldn’t you do everything you can to keep this information from people, and instead tell them smooth-sounding lies? That is exactly what is happening and has been happening in churches worldwide, including and perhaps especially in America, for decades.

Other than directly attacking one’s enemy and killing them, such as done in wartime, how does one rid itself of its enemy? Well, one way is to disguise oneself as its foe and then take it down, and that is exactly what has happened in our churches. Men have been pretending to be called by God and became “pastors” of churches when in fact they have been called by Satan to destroy the church. Instead of feeding the word of God to their flocks, they are feeding them a corrupted version of the truth and are feeding themselves with the money their congregations donates to them because they enjoy hearing the lies that make them feel good in their sin. While they may preach some truths from the word of God at the beginning of their ministry, they begin to slip in some false doctrines now and then, after all, a little poison will kill just as much as a lot of poison. Then they begin to say things like, did God really say that sexual immorality is a sin? Did God really say there is only one way to heaven - don’t all roads lead to heaven? Did God really say that you must believe in Jesus as your Savior to be saved - Aren’t we all God’s children? Just as Satan did in the beginning with Eve when he put thoughts of doubt in her head when he asked her if God really said they must not eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and lied when he told her they would not die if they ate from it, so too is Satan doing the same thing with these false pastors and teachers in churches today. Now churches are corrupted so much that they are having drag queens brought into the churches, promoting all sorts of sexually-deviant lifestyles as good, “blessing” abortion mills, preaching that God is finished with Israel and that the church has replaced it, and on and on it goes. Truly, the enemy has crept in unawares. For America, the foundation that this country was built on, which is belief in Jesus Christ as a Judea-Christian nation, is crumbling, and America as a nation is coming down quickly. We have forgotten that it is not we ourselves but God who raises up nations and He also brings them down:

“He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again. He taketh away the heart [understanding] of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.” (Job 12:23-25)

Many churches, including many in America, truly are groping in the dark without the light of God and are staggering like a drunken man because they have decided to follow the world, with its always-changing perception of the “truth,” rejecting the constant, never-changing truth of God. Because they have no firm foundation on which to stand, these false churches that are dens of thieves will come crumbling down. Because a majority of American churches have been infected by these false pastors and have abandoned the truth, which poisoned the nation, causing us to commit horrific abominations against Him, I absolutely believe that the hedge of protection that America once had has been removed by God Himself. Without His hedge of protection, America will fall, and I believe we are witnessing its demise as I write this devotional in December 2023.

“Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” (Psalm 127:1)

“For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.” (2 Peter 2:18-22)

Our only hope is Jesus Christ. It is only by His precious blood that we can be washed clean of all our sins, of all the spots that defile us, and made white as snow through His sinless sacrifice. When America’s fall is complete, when it comes crashing down, and it will, so will the other western nations. It is then that the final antichrist will arise to power and promise a false “peace and security” to the world, but in reality it will be a 7-year reign of terror. If you are still here when this happens and you haven’t turned to Jesus, to whom will you look for to give you hope, to save you from the nightmare that is about to befall the entire world? I pray that you will choose Jesus, that you will call upon Him to save you, a sinner, just like I did. He will.

“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh to the Father, but by me.” (Jesus Christ; John 14:6)

“I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” (Jesus Christ; John 8:12)

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (Jesus Christ; John 3:16-18) ✝️

December 7, 2023: Jude 11 - Woe Unto the Ungodly!

“Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.” - Jude 11

In continuing his description of the ungodly men who have crept in unawares, Jude discusses three men who all went astray: Cain, Balaam, and Core, also called Korah. Let us consider why Jude brought up the names of these three men and compared them to the ungodly men who had crept in unaware, both back then in Jude’s time and now in these end times. May we heed Jude’s words that he says of these men: Woe unto them! As it did not turn out well for Cain, Balaam, and Core/Korah, neither will it turn out well for anyone who follows in their footsteps.

Cain was the first son of Adam and Eve and brother to their second son, Abel. Cain tilled the ground, and Abel kept sheep. In bringing an offering to the Lord God, “Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof.” (Genesis 4:3-4) The Bible then tells us:

“And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.” (Genesis 4:4-5)

The Bible does not tell us why God respected Abel’s offering but not Cain’s, but let’s look more in-depth as to what Cain and Abel sacrificed. Regarding Cain’s offering, it does not say that Cain brought the first of the fruits that the land bore and it doesn’t tell us that he brought the best fruit and offered them to God. Rather, it only says he “brought of the fruit of the ground.” If we contrast that to Abel’s offering, we see that Abel brought the fat, or the best portions, of the firstborns of the flock. Abel offered to God the best that he had to offer, putting God first, while Cain did not. There is also a difference of the blood sacrifice offered by Abel but not offered by Cain. Even though Cain tilled the ground and did not shepherd the sheep, there is nothing written that prohibited Cain from offering a blood sacrifice as his brother did.

God noticed that Cain was very upset because God had not respected Cain’s offering:

“And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.” (Genesis 4:6-7)

God told Cain that if he did well, he would be accepted. However, if he did not, then sin was at the door, waiting for Cain to let sin rule over his life. God warned Cain not to let sin rule over him but that Cain should rule over sin. God knew there was a heart issue in Cain, and God was trying to get Cain not to harden his heart by letting sin come in. However, Cain did not listen to God. Cain was jealous of Abel because God had respected Abel’s offering and not his own. Cain let the sins of jealousy, envy, and anger into his heart, where it caused him to commit the first murder in human history when he killed his own brother, his own flesh and blood. After Cain killed Abel, when God asked Cain if he knew where was his brother was, Cain answered sarcastically to God, “I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9). The Bible then tells us God’s reply to Cain:

“And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; when thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.” (Genesis 4:10-12)

The murder of an innocent human being is known to God, with even the blood of that person crying out from the ground to God. In the example of Cain, we see the fulfillment of sin, which began as jealousy and envy, filling Cain with wrath against his brother and also against God. Not heeding the warnings of God, Cain let sin rule over him, resulting in Cain murdering his own brother. If anyone believes that God does not see and know all who have killed an innocent person, including the slaughter of human beings in the wombs of their mothers, they are being deceived by the lies of the devil, and sin is ruling over them, just as sin ruled over Cain.

Next, let’s consider the example of Balaam that Jude provided. However, before discussing who Balaam was, let us go back to the time when God made His unconditional, unilateral, everlasting covenant with Abram, whose name God had not yet changed it to “Abraham.” God first spoke this covenant to Abram:

“Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3)

God had promised to make of Abram a great nation, but Abram and his wife Sarai were old at that time and yet had no children. Abram suggested to God that because he had not heir yet, the steward of his house named Eliezer of Damascus should be his heir. However, God made it clear to Abram that his heir would come from the seed of Abram:

“And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him righteousness. And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. And he said, LORD GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?” (Genesis 15:4-7)

God Himself then enacted the covenant (unilaterally). God told Abram to bring him a 3-year old heifer, a 3-year old female goat, a 3-year old ram, a turtledove, and a pigeon and to divide (cut) all but the birds and lay each piece against one another. After the sun went down, Abram fell into a deep sleep “and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon Abram.” (Genesis 15:12) God then made the unilateral covenant with Abram while he slept:

“And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, and the Hittites, and the Periizzites, and the Rephaims, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites and the Jebusites.” (Genesis 15:13-21)

Years passed and still Abram had no heir. Growing impatient with God, Sarai decided to take matters in her own hands and to help produce an heir for Abram. She asked Abram to let her Egyptian handmaid named Hagar have sexual intercourse with him to produce an heir for him. Abram agreed, and a male child was born whom they named Ishmael. Abram was 86 when Ishmael was born. Four years later and still without an heir produced from Abram and Sarai, God reaffirmed His promise to Abram and made another covenant with him:

“And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.” (Genesis 17:2-10)

Next, God told Abram:

“And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!” (Genesis 17:15-18)

Here we have Abraham disbelieving the words that God told him, for Abraham was only hearing the words as a man would speak them and not the words that Almighty God would speak. Abraham believed there was no way that he and Sarah could conceive and bear a child because they were long past childbearing age. Instead, Abraham proposed to God that Ishmael would be Abraham’s heir to the unconditional, everlasting covenant that God had made with him. However, there is nothing impossible for God, even causing a child to be born from a one hundred-year old man and a ninety-year old woman. Is there anything impossible for God, who created the heavens, earth, and sea and all that is within them? When we put out faith and trust in the One true God, we must trust in Him to do what He says He will do. God then confirmed that His covenant would be between Him and the seed of Abraham and his wife Sarah:

“And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.” (Genesis 17:19-21)

And as God promised Abraham, a son was born unto him and Sarah:

“And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him.” (Genesis 21:1-5)

Now, let us return to Balaam, whom Jude mentioned in Jude 11. Who was Balaam? He was a prophet of God, but he was a wicked prophet whose heart was motivated by money and not God. When the children of Israel were being led by Moses in the wilderness after God delivered them out of Egypt, they came near to the land of the Moabites, which at that time was in the possession of the Amorites. The king of Moab, King Balak, had seen that the Israelites had taken the Amorite cities and had smote the king, his sons, and all his people. “And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.” (Numbers 22:3)

Before discussing what Balak did next, let’s read about why God was brining the children of Israel into the land of Canaan. God had given the people in the land of Canaan over 400 years to change their ways and to stop worshipping false gods and sacrificing their children to them. During this 400-year time period, the children of Israel were in bondage in Egypt, a land that was not theirs, just as God had prophesied to Abraham (Genesis 15:13). However, the Canaanites did not change their ways but continued in their wickedness. Before God would lead the children of Israel into His land that He was giving to them, He spoke to Moses to warn the children of Israel not to do the things the people of Egypt had done when the children of Israel lived there and not to do the things the Canaanites were doing in the land of Canaan, as written in Leviticus 18 and in Deuteronomy 18:9-14, including those sins listed below:

“And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD. Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is an abomination. Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: and the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourner among you: For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;) that the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you. For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.” (Leviticus 18:21-30)

“When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God. For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.” (Deuteronomy 18:9-14)

In His words to Moses, God made it clear as to why He was going to allow the children of Israel to come and take the land of the Canaanites: they had committed abominations against Him and He was visiting their own iniquity upon those who had committed the abominations.

Having seen the children of Israel coming near, Balak, the king of Moab, allied himself with the Midianites. Balak decided to send the Moabite and Midianite elders to the prophet Balaam to have him curse the children of Israel so that he could smite them and drive them out of the land. Balak also sent “rewards of divination in their hand” (Numbers 22:7), and the elders came to Balaam and told him what Balak had said. If Balaam truly loved God, he would have known that God would not want him to even consider the proposition they had just made to him and would have rejected it outright. However, Balaam told them to stay the night at his house and he would call upon the Lord God and see what He said to do. God then asked Balaam who the men were, and Balaam told God what they had said to him. God then responded with a clear message to Balaam:

“Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.” (Numbers 22:12)

The next morning, Balaam told them, “Get you into your land: for the LORD refuseth to give me leave to go with you.” (Numbers 22:13). Did you notice that it seems that Balaam wanted to go with them and put the blame on God as to why he wouldn’t go with them? Why didn’t he just say that he would not go and curse the people whom the Lord God has blessed? He seems to be saying in a not-so-subtle message that though he did want to with them and curse the children of Israel, God had forbid him to do it. His heart was not right with God, and he left the door open for sin to rule over him, just as Cain had done. Balak’s elders did leave and went and told Balak what happened. Balak then sent even more men of higher status with more promises of rewards to Balaam. Once again, Balaam’s actions spoke louder than his words. While his words again to Balak’s men said he must not go with them and curse the children of Israel, once again, he left the door open to sin. God then told Balaam, “If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.” (Numbers 22:2) Next, we read that Balaam saddled his ass (“donkey” in our modern terms) and went with them. However, we do not read that the men called upon him but we do read that he went with them. God was not happy with Balaam:

“And God’s anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the LORD stood in the away for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him. And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.,” (Numbers 22:22-23)

Three times God sent an angel to block the way of the donkey, and three times the donkey turned away from the angel. God was sending a roadblock to Balaam to prevent him from doing what God had forbade him to do. How many times has God sent roadblocks in our lives to prevent us from doing something He does not want us to do? God even gave Balaam’s donkey the ability to speak to try and speak some sense into him!

“And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times? And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee. And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay.” (Numbers 22:28-30)

Next, God opened the eyes of Balaam so he could see the angel, with his sword drawn in his hand, that God had put in the way of the donkey. When Balaam saw the angel, he bowed down and fell flat on his face. The angel asked Balaam why he persisted to go when the ass had tried to stop him three times. Balaam then admitted that he had sinned. The angel told Balaam to go ahead and go with the men but to give Balak only the word that he (the angel) would speak to him (Balaam). Balaam proceeded to go and met with Balak. Three times Balak took Balaam to the high places of Baal, which was where they worshipped the false gods. Three times Balaam told Balak to build altars and prepare burnt offerings, and he did. However, instead of cursing the children of Israel, each time Balaam spoke blessings upon them. Let’s read the first two of Balaam’s blessings of the children of Israel:

“How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied? For from thee top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.” (Numbers 23:8-9)

“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn. Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination agains Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought! Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.” (Numbers 23:19-24)

The third time that Balak asked Balaam to curse the children of Israel, there was something different about Balaam:

“And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness. And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him. And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said: He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:

“How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag [king of the Amelekites], and his kingdom shall be exalted. God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows. He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.” (Numbers 24:1-9)

This was obviously not what Balak wanted to hear! Balak was furious with Balam and said to him:

“I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times. Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the LORD hath kept thee back from honour.” (Numbers 24:10-11)

Balaam did remind Balak that he had told Balak’s messengers that he could only speak what the Lord had told him to say. Next, Balaam gave an amazing prophecy of what would happen in the latter days:

“And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days. And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said: He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth [tumult]. And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city. And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever. And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwelling place, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock. Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive. And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this! And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish forever. And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place: and Balak also went his way.” (Numbers 24:14-25)

This prophecy and its exact meaning has been debated for a long time, and you can do your own research on it. My personal opinion, based on my understanding of the Bible through the guiding of the Holy Spirit, is that it is a two-fold prophecy, where the first part is referring to King David when he smote Moab and the Moabites became his servants (2 Samuel 8:2) and subjected the Edomites and they became his servants (2 Samuel 8:14). However, because Balaam stated his prophecy is in the context of the “latter days,” I believe this is also referring to the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who did come from the line of Jacob out of Israel. I agree with what gotquestions.org writes about this passage of Scripture and how it refers to Jesus Christ: (See: https://www.gotquestions.org/scepter-of-God.html)

“The word scepter is also used to symbolize God’s rule, as in Psalm 45:6: “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom” (cf. Hebrews 1:8). In this verse the scepter represents the absolute and eternal supremacy of the Lord’s justice. When the Bible uses the word scepter as it pertains to God, it is talking about His absolute rule over His creation. The scepter of God also shows up in prophetic passages describing the coming Messiah who will rule the nations and restore righteousness. Numbers 24:17 says, “A star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel”—clearly a prophecy about Jesus Christ, the King of kings. Jesus, from the tribe of Judah, will possess the scepter of God and be given charge over all the nations, in fulfillment of Genesis 49:10. At His second coming, Jesus will take His rightful place over the kingdoms of this world, and “He will rule them with an iron scepter” (Revelation 19:15).”

Similarly, another prophet, Daniel, also prophesied of the Messiah in his night vision. In the vision, Daniel saw Jesus, whom he described as one like the Son of man, and wrote of His everlasting dominion over all the nations:

“I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14)

After Balaam gave this prophecy to Balak, it seemed like that was end of it as they each went their own ways. However, Balaam apparently found a way to get the rewards promised to him by Balak. Though Balaam could not curse the children of Israel directly, he had found a way to curse them indirectly. Balaam advised Balak to have the Moabite women seduce the men of the children of Israel, who then would be influenced to worship and sacrifice to false gods:

“And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. And Israel joined himself unto Baal-Peor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel." (Numbers 25:1-3)

“Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.” (Numbers 31:16)

Consequently, God instructed Moses to kill all the men of Israel who had not only committed fornication with the daughters of Moab and Midian but also worshipped and sacrificed to their false gods, and 24,000 men were killed. (Numbers 25:1-9)

The book of Deuteronomy also describes how the Ammonites and Moabites did not help Israel after God led them out of Egypt through Moses and as they journeyed to the Promised Land but instead had hired Balaam to curse Israel but instead, he ended up blessing Israel:

“An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever: because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee. Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee. Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.” (Deuteronomy 23:3-6)

In the end, Balaam was killed by the children of Israel when God told Moses to war against the Midianites, “Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.” (Numbers 31:8) The account of Balaam is not to be taken lightly. He pretended to serve the one true God, but his heart was true to a false god, the god of money and sought in his heart to help those who desired to curse Israel. Jesus Himself spoke of Balaam when he warned the church of Pergamos in the book of Revelation. Jesus also warned that we cannot serve two gods; we will serve one or the other:

“But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac [Balak] to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.” (Jesus Christ; Revelation 2:14)

“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon [money].” (Jesus Christ; Matthew 6:24)

Peter the apostle also spoke of Balaam when he warned against false prophets and false teachers who will “bring upon themselves swift destruction”: (2 Peter 2:1)

“Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet.” (2 Peter 2:14-16)

The last man Jude named in this verse is Core, also referred to as Korah. In my October 30, 2023 devotional, I wrote about Korah and his rebellion with 250 men against Moses and Aaron. Korah and his men felt that they should be in charge of leading the people instead of Moses and Aaron and that Moses and Aaron had placed themselves above the people. Korah and his rebellious men were all swallowed up by the earth by the mighty power of God because they were not called by God to lead the children of Israel. Again, they had a heart issue, letting sin rule their lives, and were filled with envy and disobedience to God.

Jude used these three men, Cain, Balaam, and Core/Korah, as comparisons to the ungodly men who have crept in unawares in the churches, and the same thing is happening now in churches today, including in American churches. As Jude wrote earlier in verse 4, they are“turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” Instead of reading and heeding the words of Jude about Cain, Balaam, and Core/Korah and not being like them, the opposite is true and they are lifting them up as role models. The Bible is clear: we are not to let sin rule us but we are to rule over sin:

“Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law but under grace.” (Romans 6:11-14)

When a pastor is not called by God to preach and teach the word of God, or once was called but has abandoned his faith and is instead motivated by something other than God’s calling, such as money, status, or acceptance, the result is what we see here in America: false pastors in false churches preaching to false converts seeking feel-good messages, where the churches have caved to the demands of governments and a sin-filled society to promote what God calls evil and reject and mock what God calls good. Long gone are the days when most American churches taught about sin, hell, judgment, and that Jesus Christ is the only way that one can be saved and that we should strive to live righteously and to desire to be like Christ and not like the world. Long gone are the days when pastors feared Almighty God more than they feared their governments and the ever-changing cultures and unashamedly preached the whole counsel of God, including Bible prophecy. Oh yes, just as Jude warned us, these wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing have crept in unawares and defiled the churches, and as Jude said, I say, “Woe unto them!” for their end will be as it was for Cain, Balaam, and Core! They have decided to let sin rule over their lives, and their due reward will be an eternity in hell, where they will have no peace, no joy, and will be forever separated from God and all that is good.

Writing this devotional on Jude 11 has definitely been an eye-opening study for me. It has caused me to go deeper into God’s word, into the Old Testament to learn more about Cain, Balaam, and Core. It was during this time of studying that I see the parallels between the Canaanite nations that were in the land that God was giving to the children of Israel, the Promised Land, and how the same types of sinful abominations the Canaanites were committing are the same ones that Americans are committing and, because of our status in the world, have been exporting to other nations, corrupting them as well. God was patient with these Canaanite nations, giving them 400+ years to change their ways, but they did not, and God brought judgment upon them. Let us remember that God brought judgment upon them because the land was defiled, saying, “And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.” (Leviticus 18:25) What makes us, Americans and peoples of all nations, think that God will not bring judgment upon us? I think, perhaps, the last straw for America in particular is when we decide not to bless Israel but to curse it, and I believe we are on the leading edge for that to happen. When it does, then as the nations before us who have cursed Israel were cursed and saw the wrath of God come upon them, so will America be cursed and see the wrath of God come upon us, and it won’t end well for us. Our only hope is Jesus Christ. I pray we turn to Him, before it’s too late. 🙏🏻

November 26, 2023: Jude 8-10 - Ungodly Men Speak Evil of What they Know Not

“Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.” - Jude 8-10

There is so much information packed here in these three verses and we must be careful not to gloss over it quickly. Let’s consider these verses one at a time.

In verse 8, Jude, continuing in his description of “certain men crept in unawares” who were “turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 4), calls these men dreamers who “defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.” There are at least two viewpoints on what Jude means when he referred to these men as “dreamers,” with the word “filthy” added in the King James Version of the Bible to add emphasis to the meaning. One viewpoint of “dreamers” is that it relates to the sin issue, that is, sin starts in the heart and if we let it sit there and fester and think about in our minds of a sin we would like to commit, then we are preparing ourselves to act upon that sin. The second viewpoint is that these men have dreams of which they delude themselves into thinking they are men of God and are being led by His Holy Spirit but in reality do not have the Holy Spirit within them and instead are being led by Satan in their delusion. In their delusion, these men may also believe that they are prophets of God and have received dreams from Him. Jude further speaks of these men in verse 19, “These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.” (Jude 19). Many people in our world today claim to have received prophetic dreams from God. The way that we can know if they truly were from God or not is to see what was supposedly prophesied to happen did in fact come to pass or not. If it did not, it was not of God. The fact that Jude next wrote of these dreamers and that they defile the flesh perhaps could indicate that Jude was speaking of the dreams as relating to acting upon the sin that was first in their heart instead of running away from that sin, putting it out of their minds. These men do not heed the warning in the Bible from the apostle Paul:

“But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Corinthians 6:17-20)

These apostate men in the church are not driven by the power of God but by the power of their sinful flesh. Do we see that today in so-called churches today? The answer is an astounding, yes, and it is increasing at a rapid rate, and it’s not just sexual sin between a man and a woman but unnatural sin, of which God calls an abomination, including sexual sin with children, just as was done in the days of Sodom and Gomorrha.

Continuing in verse 8, Jude says these men “despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.” The word “dominion” is translated as “authority.” Merriam-Webster.com defines “dominion” in several ways, including, “domain; supreme authority,” and the plural as “an order of angels.” Perhaps Jude is speaking of these men who not only reject authority in the churches of the men who truly have been called by God and are filled with the Holy Spirit to lead the churches but also reject the authority in the heavenly realm, including the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Some of these false pastors and teachers are even so bold as to say “I rebuke you, Satan!” and telling their congregations to do the same. This seems to explain the account Jude wrote of in verse 9, which I will discuss in a moment. Not only do these ungodly men reject authority, but Jude wrote that they speak evil of dignities. “To speak evil of” comes from the Greek word “blasphēmousin,” from where we get “blaspheme.” The Greek word for “dignities” is “doxas” and is translated as “glorious ones.” I personally think this is not referring to any human being but of the angelic beings in the heavenly realm, whom God gave higher authority than mankind. The Bible tells us that when Jesus came to earth as a man, God made Him a little lower than the angels because Jesus would have to die:

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” (Hebrews 2:9)

Thus, we can see from this Scripture that there is a level of authority that exists in heaven. The apostle Paul’s writing in Ephesians 6:12 also speaks of this:

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

Jude writes that it is these ungodly men who have crept into churches that defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignities or the glorious ones, believing they have more authority than they do. Jude then discusses how the archangel Michael had to contend with the devil over the body of Moses. Jude does not tell us why this was, but we do know that the Bible tells us it was God Himself who buried the body of Moses and that no man knows where his grave is:

“So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulcher unto this day.” (Deuteronomy 34:5-6)

We do know that when Jesus was transfigured on the mount, it was Moses and Elijah (referred to as “Elias” in the Greek and in the KJV) who appeared to Jesus. Perhaps the contending that Michael the archangel had to do with the devil had something to do with the devil trying to prevent this appearing of Moses with Elijah at Jesus’ transfiguration. We don’t know for sure because the Bible does not tell us. However, it is clear that God’s plans will not be thwarted by the devil.

Notice in the Deuteronomy passage above, it says, “but no man knoweth of his sepulcher unto this day.” Jude 9 seems to imply that the devil and Michael the archangel did know where the body of Moses was and that Michael was contending with him about the body. If that is true, it is because we know that angels are made higher than human beings. In this dispute, Jude tells us that even Michael, who is the archangel did not rebuke the devil, also called Satan, but Michael told him, “The Lord rebuke thee.” However, these ungodly men whom Jude was writing about thought they could rebuke the devil, just as many pastors and many professing Christians believe today. They do not understand the power of the heavenly realm, including good and fallen angels. They do not recognize the power and authority of God; instead, believing they can rebuke the devil. Jude makes it clear that there is only One who can rebuke the devil and that is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and we have Scripture verses that confirms this.

“And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” (Zechariah 3:1-2)

When the devil tempted Jesus after Jesus fasted in the wilderness for forty days, Jesus rebuked him because He is the Lord God. Each of the three times that the devil tempted Jesus, Jesus returned to him the words of God that are written in the Bible.

“And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” (Luke 4:5-8)

When a man came to Jesus and asked Him to have mercy on his son who was vexed, Jesus rebuked the devil:

“And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.” (Matthew 17:18)

After Jesus had told Peter and the other disciples that He must suffer many things and be killed but would rise again the third day, and Peter rebuked Jesus, saying, “Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee,” (Matthew 16:22) Jesus said to Peter:

“…Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offense unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” (Matthew 16:23)

When Jesus said that to Peter, He knew that Peter wasn’t acting on his faith in Jesus but on his sinful flesh and that it was the devil who was truly behind the words that Peter had spoken, for the devil wanted to thwart the plan of God: Jesus must die, spilling His sinless, precious blood as a sacrifice to atone for our sins, and rise again so that salvation from sins could be offered to all who believe in Him:

“The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.” (1 Peter 1:18-21)

In Jude verse 10, Jude writes that these men who have “crept in unawares” do not have an understanding that comes only from the Holy Spirit within them, for they do not have the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit within us who guides us into all truth, the Bible will not make any sense. Before Jesus was crucified, He told His disciples that He must leave them and that afterwards, He would send His Holy Spirit to be another Comforter to them and to guide them in all truth:

“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” (Jesus Christ; John 14:16-17)

“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things the the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.” (Jesus Christ; John 16:13-15)

Because the men that Jude spoke of did not, and people who are like them today and do not have the Spirt of truth in them, they do not understand the things and the word of God. They are like brute beasts, carnally minded, without understanding, corrupting themselves. Knowing God and His word only comes by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ and being filled with the Holy Spirit:

“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” (Romans 8:5-9)

We can fool ourselves but we cannot fool God. We are either with Him or against Him. No decision is a decision against Him. Do we choose to remain in our natural, unknowing state, speaking evil of the things we do not know, which leads to death? Or, do we choose to believe in Jesus, letting the Holy Spirit guide us into all truth, respecting God’s authority? This decision is the absolute most critical decision we will ever make. I pray you choose Jesus, before it’s too late. ✝️

November 17, 2023: Jude 7 - The Consequences of Not Remembering Sodom and Gomorrha's Destruction

“Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” - Jude 7

The words from Jude are stern warnings, warnings, warnings to us - can I say it enough? They are warnings to us - to be on guard and to be careful to whom we listen and for us to contend earnestly for our faith. Just as Jude warned us, there are deceivers all around us. While we expect this to happen in the unbelieving world that has not put their faith and trust in Jesus to save them, it is also happening in churches, even churches that once were solid in their preaching and teaching.

Jude gave us the warning of the children of Israel whom God delivered out of Egypt but whom were so quick to murmur and complain against Him when they missed the foods they used to have and when they struggled on their way to the Promised Land. They even created and worshipped a false god, a golden calf they had made with their own hands, and said it was that calf that had delivered them out of Egypt instead of the mighty hand of God. Their hearts grew hard against God and they turned away from believing and trusting in Him. As a consequence, except for Joshua and Caleb, none of the generation that was twenty years old and above made it into the Promised Land but died in the wilderness. Instead, God used a generation of young people that as children and young people, they had to rely on and trust in Him for their every need, to believe on Him.

Jude also warned us of the fallen angels and how God has not spared even them because of their sins against Him when they decided that their first estate, the place He had put them in the heavenly realm, was not good enough for them. The apostle Peter describes angels as “greater in power and might” (2 Peter 2:11) when compared to mankind. However, these fallen angels were not content with what they had and where they were, and they wanted more and because of that, God has bound them in chains in darkness, where they will remain until they will be judged on the great day. Do we think that we are better than these fallen angels that God would not spare them but would spare us from our sin and our unbelief in Him?

In this third warning, Jude tells us to remember Sodom and Gomorrha and the cities about them and their sins which caused God to destroy them and cause them to suffer “the vengeance of eternal fire.” Likely, you have heard about their sins, which Jude describes as “giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh.” Prior to discussing that, let’s read about the type of environment that existed in Sodom, Gomorrha and the surrounding cities of Admah and Zeboim (Deuteronomy 29:23 mentions both Admah and Zeboim in addition to Sodom and Gomorrha). Ezekiel wrote about how Sodom lived. As you read these words, read them carefully and see if they describe a society that sounds eerily similar not only to the United States but also modern day Israel, the latter of which is whom the prophet Ezekiel was writing to in Ezekiel 16, warning Israel to “…cause Jerusalem to know her abominations…”:

“As I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters. Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.” (Ezekiel 16:48-50)

The attitude that existed in Sodom and the surrounding cities at that time was one where the people were puffed up with pride, had an abundance of food and idleness, and ignored the plight of the poor and needy. For quite some time, the USA has been the most powerful nation in the world, a superpower. However, instead of giving God all the glory and obeying His commandments, we as a nation became puffed up in our pride, giving ourselves all the glory for all that has been accomplished, thinking we are invincible and that no harm could ever come to us. We no longer honor and obey God and have thrown Him out of everything and have replaced Him with our false idols and false gods, including the false god of self. This false god feeds on that which is not of God, and like Sodom and Gomorrha, we have committed fornication and gone after strange flesh and rejected God’s perfect plan for mankind.

We have become fat and lazy as we feed ourselves to excess. Per a January 25, 2023 article from forbes.com, the USA ranks 12th overall in the world’s highest obesity rates and the highest overall in high-income countries. (See: https://www.forbes.com/sites/omerawan/2023/01/25/has-the-obesity-epidemic-gotten-out-of-hand-in-america/?sh=57564fb366e6) Per an article from the Harvard School of Public Health, “Roughly two out of three U.S. adults are overweight or obese (69 percent) and one out of three are obese (36 percent)” (See: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-trends-original/obesity-rates-worldwide/). It’s not just a food problem, it’s a drug problem. The further we move away from God, the bigger the hole within our heart becomes, and we try to fill it with things that satisfy us, including sexual fornication and drug abuse, both with prescribed and illegal drugs. In a September 28, 2022 article from military.com, it states: (See: https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/09/28/new-pentagon-study-shows-77-of-young-americans-are-ineligible-military-service.html)

“A new study from the Pentagon shows that 77% of young Americans would not qualify for military service without a waiver due to being overweight, using drugs or having mental and physical health problems.”

When a clear majority of a nation’s people are unfit for military service, it leaves that nation vulnerable and you can certainly bet that the enemies of that nation know this and will take advantage of that vulnerability and attack and destroy that nation. With our nation’s borders being all but erased and left undefended, our enemies have certainly crept in unawares, just as they have infiltrated churches unawares, and I do believe we will be attacked on several fronts. It’s just a matter of time.

In our pride of self and in our idleness when many of the jobs that require physical work have been replaced by sedentary work, we have become gluttons and have forgotten God and how He once blessed our great nation. Instead of working to improve the lives of those most at need, we fed ourselves more and more, and we abandoned the commandments of God and indulged ourselves in the most disgraceful of sexual sins. We have become so immersed in ourselves and all the while, Satan is there on the sidelines, leading us into the pit of hell through our deception, confusion, and chaos to the point where we cannot even define what a woman is, we think there are an unlimited number of genders, that women can become men and men can become women and even now that we can become an animal by putting on a costume and imitating an animal’s behavior. Just as Sodom and Gomorrha caused even young children to commit sexual fornication and to go after strange flesh (Genesis 19:4), so have we. We even now believe that children have the right to decide for themselves to try and become the opposite sex and have their body parts mutilated by wicked “doctors” who are deceived by Satan. We believe that an unborn baby in a woman’s womb is not human and can be aborted/slaughtered even up to the moment of birth in the name of women’s “reproductive rights,” where the living human being inside of her has no right to exist at all. We believe that sexual relations with anyone and anything other than a man and a woman who are married is not only acceptable but is promoted over that what God commanded, even in the so-called churches!

We have become like Sodom and Gomorrrha, and like them, we believe that we will not be judged by God, that we will not be destroyed for our sins against Him. All that God calls good we now call evil, and all that God calls evil we now call good. It’s in our government, education, media, entertainment industries, sports, and even in our churches, just as Jude said there would happen. However, just as Sodom and Gomorrha were wrong about God, so are we and many other countries, and sadly, so is Israel. We are not hearing and heeding the warnings of Jude when he wrote of Sodom and Gomorrha that they are “set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” Our nation is in a free fall from morality because it has abandoned its faith in the one true God, Jesus Christ, and we will see the ultimate collapse of our nation. I am convinced of it.

God’s judgment and wrath are coming upon us, and not only in America but across the entire world. It truly does feel like we are living in the days right before the time of Jacob’s trouble begins, meaning the time of Israel’s trouble, during which Israel primarily but also everyone on earth will undergo a 7-year period of hell on earth when God executes His wrath on an unbelieving and wicked world. I believe prior to this, all who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ to save us from our sins will be caught up to Him in the clouds, the dead first and then those believers in Christ who are still alive, as the apostle Paul wrote about in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and in 1 Thessalonians 5:9": “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.”

God is a just God, and that means He must judge the wicked for what they have done, just as He judged Sodom and Gomorrha. However, everyone who believes in Jesus Christ will be saved from God’s wrath. The time of Jacob’s trouble, which is described in detail in the book of Revelation is not Satan’s wrath but God’s wrath. What kind of God would He be if he forever let wickedness and evil run rampant and never be judged? However, along with His judgment, He also provides the way to be pardoned of all of our sins, and that is by putting our faith and trust in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from all our sins. Jesus is not a way but the only way to be saved. And for anyone who believes that God is finished with the Jewish people, you are wrong, for the Bible tells us that at the end of the time of Jacob’s trouble, a remnant of Israel, one-third, will finally come to faith in Jesus Christ and will be saved. (Zechariah 13:8-9). God sent Jesus first to save His people, the Jews, and because of their overall rejection of Him, God then sent Jesus to the non-Jews, the Gentiles. The Bible also tells us that we should not be conceited in our faith by what has happened and it was because of the Jews’ unbelief in Jesus that salvation was offered to us as well. After all, we ALL were once unbelievers in Jesus, lost in our sins:

“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happening to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: for this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes. For the gifts of and calling of God are without repentance. For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.” (Romans 11:25-32)

Paul refers to the Jews as the natural branches of a tree and the Gentiles as branches that have been grafted in and that if we think the natural branches were replaced by the grafted-in branches, which many churches today believe, Paul warns us:

“Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.” (Romans 11:19-21)

Paul went on to write that we cannot know the mind of the Lord, whose wisdom and knowledge we cannot fathom, for in His wisdom, He provides the way of salvation for all who would believe in Jesus:

“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” (Romans 11:33-36)

“But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek [Gentile; non-Jew]: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:8-13)

It’s not too late to put your faith and trust in Jesus to save you from you sins and to save you from what is coming, which I believe is sooner than we might expect. I pray you turn to Him and be saved, before it’s too late, as it was for the world before God sent the flood and spared only Noah and his family and in the days of Sodom and Gomorrha, when God spared only Lot and his family, just as Jesus warned us:

“And as it was in the days of Noe [Noah], so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man [Jesus]. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” (Jesus Christ; Luke 17:26-30) ✝️

November 10, 2023: Jude 6 - Let Us Not Fall Away from our Faith in Jesus

“And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” - Jude 6

As Jude wrote previously in verse 5, he wants us to remember certain things, certain times in the Bible when God has judged not only people for their unbelief but here in this verse, He also has bound the angels in darkness and will judge them because they “kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation.” The apostle Peter also wrote of this:

“For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; and spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly…” (2 Peter 2:4-5)

Before we examine what caused God to reserve them in everlasting chains, let us read the words of Paul that he wrote in Ephesians 6, where he describes what we as believers in Jesus Christ wrestle with:

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places, Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:10-13)

Have you noticed how dark the world is getting? Years ago, I noticed how dark the movies were getting, even in children’s movies, and now I would say especially in children’s movies because Satan wants to steal their souls. Have you noticed the predominant themes of darkness and the colors of red and black at globalists’ events, Hollywood awards shows, and NFL half-time shows and other sporting events? Have you sensed a change in people recently, where it is not a change for good but for evil? It is not your imagination, it is real. There is a darkness at work in our world, and it has been since the beginning of time. It is empowered by Satan and all of his fallen angels who chose to follow him and to leave God. These are the ones the apostle Paul wrote about in Ephesians 6. These are the ones who cause people to doubt God’s word, who lead people into temptation, and who wage spiritual war against us. When people do not know nor believe in God’s word, rather than fleeing from whatever they are being tempted with, they are drawn to it, just as Eve was drawn to the fruit in the Garden, and they give in to it.

In the Ephesians Scripture above, it speaks of an authority of this darkness, with principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places. Just as any military has its ranks of authority, so does the devil has his own ranks of authority, all of whom take orders from him. I believe this includes the fallen angels and also human beings who have rejected God and have chosen to follow the devil, Satan. Satan uses them too in order to try and accomplish his evil plan for this world, but he and they will not succeed: God wins.

The whole point of the book of Jude is that he was warning his brothers and sisters in Christ that this same darkness had infiltrated the church by men who pretended to be of God but who were followers of Satan. Later in the book, Jude tells his readers, that in the last time, that is the days of the world before the return of Jesus Christ, these same types of ungodly men will creep into the churches and preach whatever their ungodly congregations want to hear because the pastors care more about money than peoples’ souls. The congregations will keep going and listening to these false pastors and teachers because they want to be made comfortable in their sin rather than being told they need to turn away from it to prevent their fall. Jude also tells us there will be people who do not walk in the Holy Spirit but who walk according to their own ungodly lusts and will mock those who are true followers of Christ. (Jude 17-19). Oh, how we are seeing this happen to do in many churches all around the world!

Jude also reminds us that it’s not just men - humanity - whom God destroyed for their unbelief and their wickedness, but God also has bound in darkness the fallen angels and will judge them in the great day. What was it about these fallen angels? Many people believe this is speaking about what is written in the book of Genesis chapter 6:

“And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” (Genesis 6:1-13)

Many people believe that the “sons of God” mentioned in the Scripture above are the ones Jude was referencing when he wrote, “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation,” and that God has reserved them in everlasting chains in darkness until they will be judged by God. However, we cannot know for sure because in Genesis 6, God doesn’t refer to them as “angels” but as “sons of God.” Whomever they were, the Bible makes the distinction between them and “the daughters of men”; notice it doesn’t say “sons of men.” Whatever they were, when they had sexual intercourse with the daughters of men, it produced a race of giants who were mighty men, and afterward, wickedness and violence filled the earth so much so that God destroyed all flesh upon the earth except for Noah and his family, a total of eight persons. Others have noted that the Bible says of Noah, “Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” We know that no mere human being could ever be perfect because we are all sinners. The only One who walked the earth who was perfect was Jesus Christ. Some have speculated that when it says Noah was “perfect in his generations,” it means that his and his family’s DNA had not been corrupted by the sons of God when they had sexual intercourse with daughters of men. We cannot know for sure, but this is very interesting, especially now in the days in which we live when scientists are playing God and manipulating the human genome and also manipulating the DNA of animals. They are also experimenting with mixing human and animal cells to produce a chimera, such as was reported in a May 15, 2021 article from The Guardian when biologists mixed human and money cells. (See: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/may/15/mixed-messages-is-research-into-human-animal-hybrids-ethical-chimera)

On May 9, 2023, BBC news announced that a baby had been born by using the DNA from three people. (See: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-65538866) We also have the quickly-produced mRNA injections and all of the various side effects and sudden deaths that have happened since they were injected in billions of people. We will see what the long-term effects of them are in the months and years to come.

We have gene editing with CRISPR-Cas9: (See: https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/understanding/genomicresearch/genomeediting/)

“Genome editing (also called gene editing) is a group of technologies that give scientists the ability to change an organism's DNA. These technologies allow genetic material to be added, removed, or altered at particular locations in the genome. Several approaches to genome editing have been developed. A well-known one is called CRISPR-Cas9, which is short for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and CRISPR-associated protein 9.”

Add to that there are very rich and powerful people who are pushing for transhumanism, defined as: (See: https://www.britannica.com/topic/transhumanism)

“Transhumanism, philosophical and scientific movement that advocates the use of current and emerging technologies—such as genetic engineering, cryonics, artificial intelligence (AI), and nanotechnology—to augment human capabilities and improve the human condition. Transhumanists envision a future in which the responsible application of such technologies enables humans to slow, reverse, or eliminate the aging process, to achieve corresponding increases in human life spans, and to enhance human cognitive and sensory capacities. The movement proposes that humans with augmented capabilities will evolve into an enhanced species that transcends humanity—the “posthuman.””

The article referenced above further states:

“Transhumanism found further support from Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, including Google cofounder Larry Page, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, and Tesla’s Elon Musk. In 2013 Page launched Calico Life Sciences LLC (Calico Labs), a research and development company dedicated to extending the human life span through advanced technologies. In early 2022 Bezos and other backers invested $3 billion in Altos Labs, a biotechnology company seeking to reverse aging and disease. Musk founded SpaceX in 2002 in hopes of establishing human colonies on the Moon and Mars and launched Neuralink in 2016 to develop implantable brain chips.”

How far will these technologies advance? Have we not already crossed boundaries that should never have been crossed, as was done in Noah’s day? Aren’t those who are doing this trying to replace God? Aren’t they even trying to be gods, false gods? Read the words below from an article written by Yuval Noah Harari and posted on Britannica.com on October 19, 2023 titled “Our Nonconscious Future”:

“Within the next century or two, we humans are likely to upgrade ourselves into gods and change the most basic principles of the evolution of life. Traditional mythologies depicted gods as powerful beings that could design and create life according to their wishes. In the coming two centuries we will probably learn how to engineer and manufacture various life forms according to our wishes. We will use bioengineering in order to create new kinds of organic beings; we will use direct brain-computer interfaces in order to create cyborgs (beings that combine organic and inorganic parts); and advances in machine learning and AI might even allow us to set in motion the creation of completely inorganic beings. The main products of the future economy will not be food, textiles, and vehicles but rather bodies, brains, and minds.”

Let’s revisit what the Bible tells us. In the days of Noah when the sons of God had sexual intercourse with human women, they corrupted the DNA of mankind and created a race of giants that existed upon the earth at that time. The Genesis 6 account tells us:

“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5)

“And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” (Genesis 6:12-13)

God then sent a flood that destroyed all humans, birds, and animals that lived on the ground. I do not consider it coincidence that the Hebrew word for “violence” is “Hamas.” (See: https://biblehub.com/hebrew/chamas_2555.htm)

Genesis 6 also tells us that not only were there giants in the days before the flood but also after:

“There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.” (Genesis 6:4)

This agrees with the Biblical accounts of giants being mentioned after the flood, including when God, before He would deliver Israel into the Promised Land of Canaan, told Moses to send 12 men, one from each of the 12 tribes of Israel, to spy out the land. Ten of the spies were afraid of the people, the giants, whom they had seen and provided an evil report. It also agrees with David killing Goliath, who was also a giant. Using an average measurement of 18 inches per cubit and six inches per span, Goliath would have been approximately 9’6” tall.

“…The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” (Numbers 13:32-33)

“And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.” (1 Samuel 17:4)

I have discussed all of this so that we have some background on the times of Noah when the sons of God had sexual intercourse with women and produced a race of giants, which perhaps may be the angels that did not keep their first estate that Jude wrote about in Jude 6. I included this information so that we could consider the attitudes of people on the earth at the time of Noah, how they were going about with their lives - eating, drinking, and marrying - but that the earth was filled with violence. Do we not have that same type of atmosphere in our world today? People are distracted by their phones, sports, entertainment, drugs, sex, feel-good messages that preach God wants you to be rich in treasures of this world in supposed churches, etc., all the while our societies are filled with violence. Why is that? Because as a majority, our societies - people, individuals - have rejected the One true God and have rejected the truth. All who have done this will be judged by God, just as He will judge the fallen angels. We would not have false preachers and teachers in churches today if we rejected them, if we called them out for not preaching and teaching on the true word of God. However, I would say that the majority of churches in the world have false preachers and teachers, and instead of people fleeing from them, people run to them. Why? Because they don’t want salvation from their sins by believing in Jesus Christ but they want a genie in a bottle who will grant them their every lustful desire and who will approve of them in their sins.

Before Jesus was crucified, died, resurrected, and ascended to heaven, where He now sits at the right hand of God the Father, Jesus told His disciples:

“And as it was in the days of Noe [Noah], so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” (Luke 17:26-30)

Judgment day is coming; it cannot be stopped. Just as God held His people Israel accountable for their sins against Him after He brought them out of Egypt and just as He held accountable the angels who left their proper domain, so too will He hold each and every one of us accountable. Are we murmuring and complaining against Him even when He has provided for us? Are we walking according to our own lusts instead of obeying His commandments? Are we supporting that which is evil and ungodly in our world which is filled with violence, even in our own churches? The only cure for sin is Jesus, but like any cure, we must decide to take it, we must decide for ourselves whether or not we will put our faith and trust in Him to forgive us of all our sins. If we know the cure exists and ignore it, we will die in our sins and spend our eternity in a place called hell, forever separated from God and all that is good.

I pray that if you are not saved by Jesus, that you would turn to Him today, before it’s too late. For those of us who are saved by Jesus, may we hold onto Him like never before, never letting go, for as it was in the days of Noah and Lot, so shall it be when Jesus returns, and we know that our redemption draws oh so near.

“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” (Jesus Christ; Luke 21:28) ✝️

October 30, 2023: Jude 5 - Let Us Remember that God is Judge

“I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.” - Jude 5

I must admit that when I first sat down to write this devotional, after having read the book of Jude again and specifically this verse, I really did not know about many of the things that occurred after God had delivered, through Moses, the children of Israel out of Egypt and as He led them through the wilderness to the Promised Land. I felt that the Holy Spirit impressed upon me that I should not be in a hurry to write this devotional. Instead, I should take the time to go back and read the Old Testament Scriptures for myself and not worry about how many days had elapsed since I first started this writing. I was to focus on the message of God that is written in the Scriptures: no matter what, I must not harden my heart in sin and rebellion and I must continue in my belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, let us read and discuss some of the Scriptures Jude lovingly reminded us to remember, for the days that the prophets and the apostles prophesied about, when many would turn away from their faith and turn to fables spoken of by great deceivers, are here; we are living in those days.

Moses was a Hebrew man of the tribe of Levi and was born in Egypt. When Moses was born, he survived the king of Egypt, Pharaoh’s commandment to put all male children born unto the Hebrews into the river so that they would die. Pharaoh was threatened by the increasing number of Hebrews that lived in Egypt, for their numbers had increased since another Hebrew, Joseph, his father Jacob, and his family lived there. After hiding him for three months, Moses’ mother could hide him no more. She put him in an ark of bulrushes and laid it by the river bank, where it was found by Pharaoh’s daughter, who took the child and raised him as her own. Moses lived as an Egyptian until one day, he saw how his people, the Hebrews, who had been enslaved for hundreds of years in Egypt were mistreated by the Egyptian. Moses saw an Egyptian smite a Hebrew slave. Moses then went and slew that Egyptian and hid him in the sand. Pharaoh heard what had happened and sought to kill Moses, causing Moses to flee to the land of Midian. There, Moses met a man named Reueul, also named Jethro, who was the priest of Midian. Moses married one of his daughters named Zipporah and they had two sons. Time passed and Pharaoh died and the children of Israel were still in bondage. They cried to God, and God heard their cry:

“And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.” (Exodus 2:24-25)

Meanwhile, Moses kept his father-in-law’s sheep, and one day when he came to the mountain of God, an angel of the LORD appeared to him in a burning bush, and God called to Moses:

“And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto generations.” (Exodus 3:5-15)

Moses did go to Egypt with his brother Aaron and they went to Pharaoh, saying to him, “Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.” (Exodus 5:1), but Pharaoh refused to let God’s people go. God sent the first plague, and Pharaoh refused. God then sent ten plagues upon Egypt, with the last plague being the death of the firstborn of both man and beast, but God protected the Israelites when He established the Passover with His people, and their firstborns were saved. Finally, after the final deadly plague, Pharaoh agreed to let God’s people go. Moses, through the mighty hand of God, led the children of Israel through the Red Sea, and God parted the waters so that Israel could cross on dry ground. When Pharaoh regretted his decision to let Israel go and pursued them with his armies through the Red Sea that God had parted, God caused the waters to swallow up Pharaoh and his men, finally freeing the Israelites from the grip of Egypt.

The children of Israel then went into the wilderness of Shur and after three days, they found no drinkable water, for the water was bitter. Then God provided for them:

“And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried unto the LORD; and thee LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, and said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.” (Exodus 15:24-26)

By the 45th day of their journey, they again murmured against Moses and also Aaron and questioned why God had brought them out of Egypt. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that the wilderness area God brought them to was called “Sin.”

And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came into the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” (Exodus 16:1-3)

The LORD then told Moses:

“I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no. And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.” (Exodus 16:4-5)

Moses told them their murmurings weren’t against him and Aaron but against God Himself. He told them God would provide flesh to eat (quail) in the evening, “then ye shall know that thee LORD hath brought you out from the land of Egypt” (Exodus 16:6) and bread from heaven, called Manna, in the morning, “then ye shall see the glory of the LORD; for that he hearth your murmurings against the LORD: and what are we, that ye murmur against us?” (Exodus 16:7). It seems that God only gave them quail for that one evening, but He gave them manna for forty years (Exodus 16:35). God gave them through Moses specific instructions on how much manna to collect and to collect it for six days but not on the seventh day, for it was the Sabbath day. Some people did not heed the instructions and collected more than they were told to collect, and when they did, the manna turned to worms.

As they journeyed, they left the wilderness of sin and entered Rephidim. Once again, they were without water and they murmured against Moses and Aaron. Moses appealed to God and said the people were ready to stone him. God told Moses to smite the rock in Horeb and water would come out of it, and it did. (Exodus 17:1-7)

In the third month after they had left Egypt, Moses led the children of Israel to the desert of Sinai:

“And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.” (Exodus 19:3-6)

Moses did as commanded him, and all the people said they would do as the Lord had spoken.

At Mount Sinai, Moses met God at the mountain, and God gave Moses His Ten Commandments. (Exodus 20:1-17). The people saw and were filled with fear:

“And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold. An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. Neither shall thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.” (Exodus 20:18-26)

Later, God again called Moses up to Mount Sinai. Moses was there for forty days and forty nights, and the children of Israel corrupted themselves:

“And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.” (Exodus 32:1-6)

They had disobeyed the commandments of God and lied and said it was the man Moses that had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They denied the mighty power of God and that it was He who had delivered them from the bondage of Pharaoh; Moses had no power of his own absent of God. Then, because Moses was now out of the picture, or so they thought, they made a false god with their own hands and said it was this false god-calf that had brought them out of Egypt, and they worshipped and sacrificed to their false god. This is a perfect example of how quickly we ourselves can forget all that God has done for us. It is a picture of when times get tough and things aren’t going as we expected, that we decide to abandon our faith in Him and in what He can and will do for us in the future, and instead put our faith and trust in a false god or false gods, whether those false gods be a golden calf or something different, such as ourselves, money, government, medicine, or any other thing besides the one true God.

God saw and heard what they were doing and said to Moses:

“Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.” (Exodus 32:7-11)

Moses appealed to God not to destroy all the children of Israel and to remember His promises to them:

“And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou sparest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.” (Exodus 32:11-14)

Previously, God had given Moses the Ten Commandments that God Himself had engraved on both sides of two tablets of testimony. Obeying God’s word to him, Moses took the tablets and went down the mountain. As he came down it, he heard the voice of the people and that they were singing and dancing and his anger was aroused. He took the tablets and broke them beneath the mountain. Then Moses took the calf they had made and burnt it in the fire, ground it to powder, put it in the water, and made the people drink of it. When Moses asked Aaron what the people did to him that he would cause such a great sin to happen, Aaron said they had told him they didn’t know what happened to Moses and that he should make them gods that would go before them. Aaron said he told them to gather their gold and when he put the gold into the fire, “and there came out this calf.” (Exodus 32:24) Aaron clearly lied about what had happened, perhaps in an attempt to make an excuse for his own sin.

“And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:) Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD’s side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves to day to the LORD, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day. And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin. And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin -; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.” (Exodus 32:25-33)

Moses had said to God that if He would not forgive them, then to blot Moses’ name out of his book, but God would not do that. God said he would hold each person accountable for their own sin and would blot their names out of His book. Just as Moses was accountable for his own sin and the children of Israel were accountable too, so are we, each one of us, accountable for our own sin.

God continued speaking with Moses, for God had a purpose for Moses and God would see that purpose fulfilled in Moses’ life, and that was for Moses to lead the children of Israel to the land God had given them:

“Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them. And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.” (Exodus 32:34-35)

Even though the children of Israel had seen all that God had done for them, all the plagues He had sent upon Pharaoh and Egypt so that Pharaoh would let them go, not long after God delivered them out of Egypt, the people again complained against God. They weren’t happy with the manna that He had given them to eat, and longed for the foods they ate while in bondage. “And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, ‘Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic: but now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.” (Numbers 11:4-6) To them, it was more important that there bellies were full of the foods they used to eat even though they lived in bondage to a Gentile who worshipped false gods. Because of their lust for the flesh, God sent them in a single day enough quail for every person to eat for a whole month. As they chewed the flesh of the quail, God’s wrath came upon them, and He sent a great plague upon all who had lusted and they died and were buried in a place God called Kibroth-hattaavah, which means “graves of the longing or of lust.” (Numbers 11:34).

As they continued in their wandering in the wilderness, the children of Israel murmured again and were envious of Moses and Aaron, whom God had chosen to lead them out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. At one point even Aaron and Miriam, who was Moses’ and Aaron’s sister, were envious of Moses until God sent leprosy upon Miriam. Moses appealed to God that He would heal her, and He did.

Before entering the Promised Land, God commanded Moses to send twelve men into the land, one man from every tribe of Israel, to search out the land. The twelve men went, and after searching it for forty days, they came back and reported to Moses, Aaron, and all the people of Israel. They said the land was indeed a land that flowed with milk and honey and they had brought back fruit from it. However, they reported that there were a strong people, children of Anak. They told of all the people who lived there: the Amalekites, Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, and the Canaanites. Caleb, who was one of the twelve men who went into the land, was not afraid of what he had seen, for he trusted in the Lord and His promises to His people, saying, “Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.” (Numbers 13:30)

“But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” (Numbers 13:31-33)

Forgetting how God had led them out of Egypt from the hand of Pharaoh, the people of Israel were filled with fear and lamented that God had brought them to die in the wilderness. How many of us, including myself, do not see the power of God and are blinded by the “giants” we have in our own lives? How many of us forget that nothing is too difficult for God, Creator of the heavens, the earth, and the seas and all that is in them? The children of Israel choose fear over faith and decided to take matters in their own hands instead of letting God lead them:

“And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.” (Numbers 14:1-4)

Joshua, who also was one of the twelve men, and Caleb, tore their clothes, and Joshua said to all of the children of Israel:

“The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not yet against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.” (Numbers 14:7-9)

However, the people ignored Joshua’s words to them and instead wanted to stone him and Caleb to death:

“But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel. And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe in me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them? I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.” (Numbers 14:10-12)

Let us read God’s words to Moses and let them be heard in our own hearts. After all that God had done for them, the majority of the children of Israel were ungrateful, rebellious, and desired to return to their bondage because they had become comfortable in their bondage. How many of us, myself included, are like this, so quick to forget all that God has done for us in our lives, especially when we are put in a situation where we must either trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5) or be filled with fear of what could happen to us because we are in an uncomfortable, an unknown situation and choose not to trust in Him and act on our fear and emotion instead of acting on our faith in Him? God put the children of Israel in the wilderness so that they must learn to depend on Him and on Him alone for their every need. How many of us are willing to do that? How many of us when we are tempted to stray, will remember the signs that He has shown us in our own lives that He loves us, He wants to save us, and He wants us to abide in Him and in His promises to us?

Moses then appealed to God and said that He should not smite the children of Israel so that the other nations, the Gentile/non-Jew nations, would not be able to say that God wasn’t able to bring them into the land that He had sworn to them and instead had slain them. Moses asked God to pardon their iniquity according to God’s great mercy.

“And the LORD said, I have pardoned according to thy word: but as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD. Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it: But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.” (Numbers 14:20-24)

Notice in the Scripture verse above that God said of the children of Israel, “and have tempted me now these ten times.” Ten was the number of plagues that God had sent upon Pharaoh and Egypt. Ten was the number of commandments that God gave Moses on the two tablets. Ten was also the same number of spies that went out to search the land that gave an evil report and who did not want to go into the Promised Land because of their fear and lack of faith in God. Gotquestions.org has a good article that describes the ten times the children of Israel tempted God. (See: https://www.gotquestions.org/ten-times-Israel-tested-God.html)

God continued, speaking to Moses and Aaron:

“To morrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea. And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me. Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me, doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in the wilderness. And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness. After the number of days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise. I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die. And the men which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land, even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the LORD. But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of the men that went to search the land, lived still.” (Numbers 14:25-38)

God had said they would wander in the land for forty years, and all people twenty years of age and above at that time He spoke this would not enter the Promised Land, the land they despised and only their “little ones” would enter into it. It would be these little ones who would have to trust in God to bring them through the wilderness and into His land. He would be their provider and not they themselves. They would not fall prey to those against them and against God; rather, their enemies would fall prey to Almighty God.

Moses told all the children of Israel what God had said and they mourned greatly. However, they rose up early the next morning and in rebellion, they decided they would go up to the top of the mountain to go into the land that God had promised them. Moses warned them that they would not prosper and would be smitten before their enemies, for they were going against God’s commandment and that He would not be with them. However, they didn’t listen and they left Moses and the ark of the covenant of the LORD and left for the hill top. As Moses warned them:

“Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah.” (Numbers 14:45)

Next, God gave Moses specific instructions on the various offerings they should make before the Lord when He would bring them to the land that He would give them. Then God spoke to Moses, saying:

“Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God. I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God.” (Numbers 15:38-41)

But instead of heeding God’s voice, a group of men rose up in rebellion. Pride set into the hearts of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. They gathered together with them 250 other men, whom Numbers 16:2 tells us were “princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown,” and they confronted Moses and Aaron, saying to them:

“Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?” (Numbers 16:3)

Moses fell on his face when he heard what they said. Moses said to them:

“Even to morrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him. This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company; and put fire therein, and put incense in them before the LORD to morrow: and it shall be that the man whom the LORD doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi. And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi: Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them? And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also? For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the LORD: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him? And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up: Is it a small thing that thou has brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us? Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.” (Numbers 16:5-14)

Moses told Korah and all the men with him, 250 in number, to take their censers, put incense in them, and bring them before the LORD. The 250 men did as Moses said and put fire in their censers and “stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron” (Numbers 16:18). Korah gathered all the congregation against Moses and Aaron, “and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the congregation.” (Numbers 16:19) God was ready to consume all the men and the congregation who came against Him, but Moses again interceded for the people. God told Moses to tell the people to leave the tabernacle where Korah, Dathan, and Abiram and their men had come, and they did as Moses told them. Dathan and Abram came out of their tents with their wives and family:

“And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind. If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me. But if the LORD make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD. And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also. And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are hallowed. The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the LORD, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign unto the children of Israel. And Eleazar the priest took the brasen censers, wherewith they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar: to be a memorial unto the children of Israel, that no stranger, which is not of the seed of Aaron, come near to offer incense before the LORD; that he be not as Korah, and as his company: as the LORD said to him by the hand of Moses.” (Numbers 16:28-40)

Instead of considering and realizing the deep sin that Korah and his men had committed against God that day and seeing that God will - and does - judge us for our sins, the next day, the children of Israel once again murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying, “Ye have killed the people of the LORD.” (Numbers 16:41) Many times Moses had interceded on behalf of the children of Israel, asking God to save them, and here they were now, blaming Moses for the death of rebellious Korah and his followers, calling them “people of the LORD,” when it was Korah and his followers who went against what the Lord had said. The congregation gathered against Moses and Aaron. Moses and Aaron looked toward the tabernacle and saw a cloud covering it and the glory of the Lord appeared once more. The Lord told Moses to get up, for He was going to consume the people. Moses told Aaron to take a censer, put fire from the altar in it, put on incense and go to the congregation and make atonement for them because God had sent a plague on them that had already it.

After wandering in the wilderness for forty years, as God promised, out of the original children of Israel whom God delivered out of Egypt, it was only Joshua and Caleb who were the adult Israelites in that first generation who eventually entered the Promised Land. This was because everyone else had not wholly followed God. Neither Aaron nor Moses were allowed to enter it because of their own disobedience to God. Moses had let his anger get the best of him when once again the people complained about the lack of water. God had told Moses what to do:

“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, taking the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink. And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.” (Numbers 20:7- 11)

Moses did not obey God’s command to him. God had told Moses only to speak to the rock and that water would come forth from it; He did not tell Moses to strike the rock. Not only did Moses strike it, he struck it twice. And, Moses said “Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?” (Numbers 20:10). Moses seemed to be attributing the power to obtain water from a rock by his and Aaron’s power and not the power of God. Aaron, as high priest, should have advised Moses when Moses said what he said to the people but he did not. Further, Aaron had previously sinned against God by making the golden calf and when he and his sister Miriam had spoken against their brother Moses. Thus, God said He would hold both Moses and Aaron accountable for what they had done:

“And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them. This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them.” (Numbers 20:12-13)

I have provided just a few examples of how the children of Israel, whom God delivered out of Egypt by His mighty hand after He sent ten plagues upon it, who saw with their own eyes the awesome power of God as He split the Red Sea and made a way for Israel to pass on dry land, and they saw as the water swallowed up Pharaoh and his armies after Israel had made it safely to the other side. The children of Israel had seen how God miraculously provided food and water for them in the wilderness, and yet, many continued in disbelief and were quick to going back to their old ways and even worshipped a false god, a golden calf made of human hands, even saying it was the golden calf that had delivered them out of Egypt instead of Almighty God.

Before we are quick to judge the children of Israel, let us examine our own lives and consider how God has saved us, perhaps from imminent danger, or by redeeming us of all our sins when we put our faith and trust in His only begotten Son Jesus Christ as our Savior, and how we acted after we were saved. Did we murmur and complain against God soon after He did something miraculous in our own life? Did we harden our heart against Him? Did we take for granted all that God has provided for us because it wasn’t what we wanted but it was what we needed at that time in our life?

While God did use both Moses and Aaron in a mighty way to fulfill His purposes for the children of Israel, God’s word was fulfilled, and neither Moses nor Aaron would enter the Promised Land. God had to do this as an example to the children of Israel that God’s commandments are to be heeded, no matter what. Instead, God chose Joshua to lead the younger generation of the children of Israel into His land. We are warned in the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments not to harden our hearts as the people did in their rebellion as they wandered in the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land:

“O come, let us worship and down down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work. Forty years long was I grieved with this generation and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.” (Psalm 95:6-11)

As Jude warns us, may we remember what the Scriptures tell us, may we learn from the lessons of the generations who lived before us, and may we not harden our hearts, which leads to turning against God. May we who have admitted we are sinners, believe that Jesus Christ has redeemed us of all our sins, and have called upon Him to save us, continue steadfastly in our faith. May we not murmur and complain against Him when things don’t go as we expected, even when we think it was something He would have wanted for us. We are not God, and we do not know the end from the beginning, as He does. Let us realize that sometimes, He will allow us to go through some very difficult things in our lives so that we can let go of trusting in the things and the people of this world and learn to trust in Him alone in all situations. Our hope is not in this world, in a politician, a government, our job, our doctors, our friends, or even in our family; every single one of them will disappoint and fail us. Rather, our hope is in Jesus Christ alone, and only He can fix this mess that the entire world is in, and the cause of it all is sin. We are walking in a wilderness of sin, just as the children of Israel walked in; we are no different than they are. We must remember that Jude wasn’t writing to unbelievers - he was writing to professing believers in Christ. As believers in Christ, as pressures mount in the world and on us, we are not immune to falling or turning away from our faith. If our faith is not thoroughly grounded by having deep roots that can only come by weathering the storms in our lives by trusting in the Lord, it will quickly be toppled as the winds of persecution blow against us, and not only against us but also against the children of Israel.

We truly are living in the times that Jude wrote about, the last time, the end times, when mockers scoff at us, for they“walk after their own ungodly lusts.” (Jude 18) The time is now to deepen our faith by reading God’s word, praying to Him, and asking Him to give us the ability to discern lies from truth, for deception is at an all time high, deceiving many and causing them to turn away from their faith in Jesus Christ.

Moses loved God, and he did his best to lead the children of Israel. However, Moses was yet a sinner, and we see how his sinful action prohibited him from entering the Promised Land. This is why God had to send His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. While Moses was a high priest, Jesus is THE high priest who never sinned. Only Jesus can save us from our sins because we could never keep God’s commandments to us. That is the purpose of the Old Testament: to show us that we cannot be saved by anything we could do, for we are all sinners in need of the Savior. God sent Jesus to us, “to the Jew first, and also to the Greek [non-Jew]” (Romans 1:16) to offer the way - the only way - of salvation from all our sins, for all who chose to believe in Him and remain in our faith in Him.

As the persecution of Jews is on the rise in our wicked world, let us not be quick to believe the lie of Satan that God is finished with the Jews. Sadly, there are many people in so-called Christian churches that believe this lie. Have they not read God’s word for themselves? Let us read what the apostle Paul wrote of this:

“I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye knot what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” (Romans 11:1-5)

“I say then, Have they [Israel, the Jews] stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them [the Jews] to jealousy.” (Romans 11:11)

“For if God spared not the natural branches [Israel, the Jews], take heed lest he also spare not thee.” (Romans 11:21)

“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.” (Romans 11:25-27)

As God has always done, He will save a remnant of the Jews as they go through the time of Jacob’s trouble, the coming 7-year tribulation period. It is that remnant, one-third of the Jews, who will mourn the One whom they have pierced, Jesus Christ, and will come to faith in Him:

“And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; all the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.” (Zechariah 12:10-14)

“And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, the LORD is my God.” (Zechariah 13:8-9)

In closing, let us remember the consequences of our sin and what happens when we murmur against God and harden our hearts against Him, in our own rebellion in the wilderness. Let us read the words of the admonition to us in Hebrews, not letting our hearts be hardened as we wait on the Lord to bring us into His rest, where we will live with Him forever, free from the burden of sin:

“Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; who was was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house. For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God. And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; but Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness; when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; while it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

“Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest on the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 3-4)

“Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” (2 Peter 3:17-18)

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:14-18) ✝️

October 13, 2023: Jude 4 - Ungodly Men have Crept in Unawares

“For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” - Jude 4

When I was young, I was gullible and I believed that what people told me was true, whether it was my friends or family, the government, and the media. It was only through my experiences of living my life that I realized that people lie, and they will lie to your face without a hint that they are lying. They lie to promote their agenda, and most of the times, it’s for their good and not ours.

Later in my life when I was seeking to know God but not yet saved, not yet born again, I was working from home and my doorbell rang. It was two Jehovah’s Witnesses women who wanted to tell me about the Bible. Being gullible and having a desire in my heart to learn about God, I started talking to them. I was defenseless, for I had not read the word of God, and Satan was all too ready to deceive me and steal my soul. That one mistake led to me studying with them for about four years, and not only me but also our children who were young at the time. I praise God to this day that He used my unbelieving husband to end my studies with them. At first I was confused and sad because I had grown to know them, but after some time had passed, I realized I and our children had been deceived by the devil for four years of our life. I thank God that He used whoever and whatever was necessary to remove me from a “church” that doesn’t believe that Jesus is God and who believes that they are the only ones who are saved. Like the snake that he is, Satan had crept in unawares, and he is still doing that today in churches all around the world.

Jude tells us that certain ungodly “men have crept in unawares” and have turned “the grace of our God into lasciviousness.” Let us consider what it means to have “crept in unawares” and also what the word “lasciviousness” means. The Greek word “pareisedysan” means to come in stealthily, which also means to come in secretly. It is just like Satan to come in pretending he is one thing - good - when in fact he is the opposite - evil. That is exactly what happened to me when I was at my home and he sent two people - whom he had already deceived - to knock at my door and to deceive me with his lies. He has been doing this from the very beginning when he deceived Eve in the garden:

“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1-5)

Satan, represented as a serpent, put seeds of doubt into Eve’s mind as to what God had commanded Adam, asking her, “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” Likewise, Satan doesn’t want us to believe God’s word as it is written but to question it, with our sinful desires and lusts. Further, he doesn’t want us to believe that God means what He says.

Eve was not only deceived by Satan, she had deceived herself because she had added to the words of God. God did not tell Adam that they could not touch the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden; rather, He only told them they could not eat of it. This is a perfect example of what happens when we add to or take away from the word of God. God’s word is clear that we should not add to or take away from what He tells us. It is stated clearly early on in the Bible and also at the end of it:

“Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.” (Deuteronomy 4:2)

“What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.” (Deuteronomy 12:32)

“Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” (Proverbs 30:6)

“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” (Revelation 22:18-19)

We don’t know why Eve felt compelled to add to the command that God had given her and Adam, but the end result, at least to me, made God’s commands to them seem more restrictive than they actually were. Eve ended up lying about what God had commanded Adam, and she disobeyed God’s command not to eat the fruit of that particular tree. As God had told Adam would happen, she and Adam did die because of their sin against Him, which is exactly what Satan wanted for them and it is exactly what he wants for every single person ever born. He hates God because he wants to be like God, and he hates humans because we are the only creation made in God’s image. Satan, being an angel, was not created in God’s image. As Satan deceived people from the beginning, so he continues to deceive people today, and that includes stealthily planting deceivers in churches all around the world, including America.

Next, let’s discuss the word “lasciviousness.” It is translated from the Greek word “aselgeia.” Per Strong’s Concordance it is used to describe “outrageous conduct, conduct shocking to public decency, a wanton violence), wantonness, lewdness.” (See: https://biblehub.com/greek/766.htm). The Bible is clear: any sexual intercourse outside of a marriage between a man and a woman is considered sin. Have we not seen lasciviousness in our world today, especially in America? While sin has existed since the fall of Adam and Eve, I don’t think there has ever been a time where sin, especially sexual sin, that is so lewd, so in-your-face, that exists in our world today, except perhaps in the days of Lot in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha, which Jude later mentions in his epistle. It is one thing for sin to run rampant in societies in which most people are not believers in Christ but it is another thing when so-called “churches” not only do not speak out against the sin but embrace it, bring it in the church, and put it on full display for all to see. This is happening now, and as Jude wrote later in verse 18, the apostles of Jesus told us this would happen in the last time, or the end times of the church age.

Never before have we sin any sinful lifestyle being approved and brought into and exalted in the church like we do today. Yes, the church should be open to all people, those who are saved and those who are not saved, who come to hear the word of God - the truth - that there is one way to salvation from sins and that is by believing in Jesus Christ, who paid the price to redeem us with His precious blood. However, it is not the church’s role to affirm anyone in their sin. Jesus died so that we would be born again through Him by believing in Him, and that means letting go of our former sinful lifestyles, not having them affirmed by the church and remaining in them. I have said this before and I will say it again, while Jesus did not condemn the woman who had been caught in the act of adultery and who was brought to Him by the Jews, Jesus did tell her to “go, and sin no more.” (John 8:11) If we go by the thought process of so-called “churches” today, the woman would have a flag created for her sin, she would have a day or a month dedicated to her sin, corporations around the world would celebrate her sin, and she would be brought into the church to speak to the congregation, who “lovingly” would affirm her sin, and on and on it goes. I don’t care what type of sin anyone who is saved commits, and that includes my own sin, sin is sin and it should not be approved by any church and exalted as it is being today. If churches truly loved those caught in sin, they would read the words of Jesus to them from John 8:11. But instead, we have false pastors in false churches who are falsely claiming to love people when in fact they are deceiving people and leading them straight to the pit of hell, which is exactly what Satan wants. These are the people whom Jesus, the prophets, and the apostles Jude, Peter, and John and many others in the Bible warned us about and how they would rise in the end times and “shall deceive many.” (Matthew 24:11) This is exactly why Jesus warned us, “Take heed that no man deceive you.” (Jesus Christ; Matthew 24:4)

As Jude wrote about, these type of people are ungodly and are ordained to this condemnation, and in the next several devotionals, we will read about the condemnation he is referring to through the Biblical examples he provided. As Jude said, these ungodly men who have “crept in unawares” have turned “the grace of our God into lasciviousness, denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” These ungodly men have taken the grace of God, which is given to anyone who chooses to put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ for their salvation, and used it as an excuse not only to remain in their sin but to exalt it, thereby denying God and His Son Jesus Christ. They have made a mockery of the price Jesus paid to redeem us of our sins, and they have reserved for themselves an eternity separated from Him and bound themselves in chains forevermore to the owner of their souls - Satan. They chose not to accept the grace given by the one true God but instead willingly chose the lies of Satan, the false god of this world.

“From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. (James 4:1-10)

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doth the will of God abideth for ever.” (1 John 2:15-17)

As one who has put my faith and trust in Jesus alone for redemption of all my sins, I know that while I am still alive on this earth in my fleshly body, I will still sin. However, I do not expect anyone, including myself, to lift up my sin and to praise it. I am a work in progress that one day will be completed when I am with Jesus. Until He calls me Home, I will continue to fight this battle against sin in His power and might, to walk not after the flesh - to walk not after what the world calls “good” but which God calls evil - but after the Spirit. The apostle Paul, who once was a persecutor of Christians but was saved and whose life was completely changed by Jesus, wrote about this in the books of Romans and Philippians:

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1)

“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (Romans 8:5-10)

“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things without murmuring and disputing: that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.” (Philippians 2:13-16) ✝️

October 8, 2023: Jude 3 - Beloved, Let Us Earnestly Contend for the Faith

“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” - Jude 3

Jude addresses his brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ as “beloved” and it is clear that he loves them. So ought we to love our brothers and sisters in Christ, and Jude loves them enough to warn them and to tell them the truth, and so should we. While Jude first intended to write about their common salvation, instead the Holy Spirit impressed upon him to warn them to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”

Each and every person who has been saved has received it one way and one way only: through faith in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, who died and was raised again to life, to redeem us of all our sins. There is no other way to salvation; it is through Jesus alone:

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (Jesus Christ; John 3:14-15)

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:9-13)

The Bible clearly tells us that all other proclaimed ways of salvation are false and lead to destruction:

“Enter ye in the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Jesus Christ; Matthew 7:13-14)

As He was crucified on the cross, before Jesus gave up His life, “…he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” (John 19:30) Jesus accomplished all that was needed for salvation; Jesus did it all. There is nothing left for us to do but to believe in Him as our risen Savior to redeem us of all our sins. It doesn’t matter if we are Jewish or not Jewish, rich or poor, male or female, free or slave, or anything else; what matters is do we believe in Him with our heart as our Savior and that He has paid the price for our salvation.

In verse 3, today’s Scripture verse, Jude gives us a hint of what his book is about: to warn us to earnestly contend for the faith, and he will tell us why in the next verse, which I will discuss in my next devotional post. But what does it mean to “contend”? Dictionary.com defines “contend” as: “to struggle in opposition,” “to strive in rivalry,” and “to assert or maintain earnestly.” Strong’s Greek defines “epagónizomai” as "struggle upon, appropriately.” Do you see what is in the Greek word for contend? It is where we get our word “agonize,” which dictionary.com defines as “to suffer extreme pain or anguish; be in agony” and “to put forth great effort of any kind.”

This leads us perfectly into the next verse, in which Jude warns his brothers and sisters that imposters and deceivers have invaded the churches, deceiving many and denying Jesus Christ. I will discuss this in detail in my next devotional. However, let me ask you this: how many professing “pastors” today will tell you that you should contend earnestly for the faith, where that means to suffer and to agonize and to put forth great effort? I venture to say that the answer is few. On the contrary, many professing “pastors” are telling you that you can have your best life now, that if you donate this amount of money to the church, if you tithe, that God will bless you beyond your wildest imaginations, that you will be healthy, wealthy, and wise, and that after you are saved by believing in Jesus, you don’t have to change the way you are because God loves you exactly as you are, sin and all. These are wolves in sheep’s clothing, telling smooth lies to those who seek not salvation of sins but seek a false gospel. They don’t want to hear the truth, for the truth is offensive because it convicts us of our sins and shows us that we need the Savior - Jesus Christ - to save us from our sins. They don’t want to hear that once we are saved, we should not remain in our sin but strive earnestly to be more like Him, to put away our old selves and put on the new man or woman created by Christ when we were born again. When one doesn’t seek the truth of God, they will be deceived by Satan, and we are seeing this in many so-called “churches” across America and around the world. Those of us who are believers in Christ must not have blinders on our eyes and pretend that this is not happening, for we could be deceived ourselves. We must do as Jude exhorted us: to earnestly contend for the faith which Jesus delivered once for all who believe on Him. We must stay in His word, stay in communication with Him through prayer, and heed the guiding of the Holy Spirit within us.

Lord willing, until next time … ✝️

October 5, 2023: Jude 1-2 - Mercy, Peace, and Love Unto You be Multiplied

“Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.” - Jude 1-2

Jude is the author of this brief but powerful book, the last book before the final book of the Bible, the book of Revelation. He speaks to his brothers and sisters in Christ, and, as we will later read, he warns them of trouble in the church, which had been secretly infiltrated by deceiving imposters. His warning rings true today, for many churches today have become apostate, and we do best to heed his words.

Jude states that he is brother to James, and it is widely thought that both James and Jude are Jesus’ half-brothers, born to Joseph and Mary sometime after Mary gave birth to Jesus, as He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. However, Jude only identifies himself as a servant of Jesus Christ and brother to James. As one Bible commentary noted, when it comes to our salvation, who our relatives are doesn’t matter, for salvation is a choice we all must make for ourselves. Even though Jude likely was Jesus’ half-brother, he wasn’t automatically saved from his sins. In fact, the Bible even tells us that Jesus’ siblings did not at first believe that Jesus is who He said He is:

“After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him. Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand. His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world. For neither did his brethren believe in him.” (John 7:1-5)

Jude obviously thought it more important to identify himself as “the servant of Jesus Christ” rather than as brother of the Messiah. That is so very applicable in our world today when so many people believe that because they come from a family that went to church, then they too are saved. However, what only matters is whether we ourselves are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. Salvation is not inherited from our family but our inheritance is found in Jesus Christ alone, by putting our faith and trust in Him for redemption of all our sins:

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” (John 3:3-7)

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God through faith until salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3-5)

At some point in Jude’s life, perhaps after Jesus’ death and resurrection, he came to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, and Jude wrote this book that is critical and so very relevant to the times in which we live.

Having identified himself, Jude makes it clear as to whom he is writing this book: all who have been saved by Jesus Christ. Believers in Christ have been sanctified by God the Father, meaning we have been set apart from this world and are not to be like the world but to be holy. However, we don’t come to Jesus only after we are “cleaned up”; rather, we come to Him as we are, and it is through His Holy Spirit who then dwells within us from that point on, we begin the process of sanctification, of sinning less and less and becoming more like Jesus. For some people, including myself, this may take a long time, as we struggle with still wanting to do things ourselves and our way instead of relying on God to guide us and to listen to and obey His direction and instruction.

Believers in Christ are preserved in Him until the fulfillment of our salvation occurs. There are many verses in the Bible about being preserved in Jesus, in God. I have included several below:

“Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.” (Jesus Christ; Luke 17:33)

“The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil; he shall preserve thy soul. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.” (Psalm 121:7-8)

“For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.” (Psalm 37:28)

Before Jesus would be crucified on the cross, He prayed to God:

“These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:1-3)

In his prayer, Jesus spoke of how He had kept, in God’s name, the apostles and disciples that God had given Him while He was in the world. Jesus also prayed that God would:

“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou has sent me.” (Jesus Christ; John 17:17-21)

The apostle Paul wrote of Jesus and how he intercedes for us:

“Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:34-39)

Whether we live or die, we who believe in Jesus for our redemption of all our sins will never be separated from Jesus’ love for us. The unbeliever cannot say this, for if they die in their sins, they will be eternally separated from Him and from His love, in a place of eternal torment. It will be a place with no mercy, no peace, and no love. Sadly, it will be the place that the unbeliever chose because they rejected Jesus’ free gift of salvation, of His mercy, His peace, and His love.

As the apostles John and Peter wrote, God doesn’t want any of us to perish but that we would all believe in His Son Jesus Christ and be saved:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth in him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:17-18)

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

We all have a choice whether or not be called sons (or children) of God, which only comes by believing in Jesus Christ for salvation of our sins. God gives each and every one of us that opportunity, and it is what he wants for us, but the choice to accept that calling or not is up to us. Most people, though, will reject it.

“He [Jesus] was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:10-13)

After we die, if we spend our eternity in hell, it is not God’s fault but our own, for rejecting God’s gift of salvation of sins through His Son Jesus Christ. A gift can be given, but it is up to us whether or not to accept it.

Jude closes his opening statement to his readers by saying, “Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.” Let us read the words of David who wrote this beautiful psalm, Psalm 34:

“O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.” (Psalm 34:8-9)

“The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all. He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate. The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.” (Psalm 34:15-22)

We who have tasted and seen that the Lord is good have experienced His mercy, His peace, and His love for us and not only for us, but for the entire world. I am so very thankful for His mercy upon me, that He saved a sinner like me. The One who never sinned came to pay the price of all my sins. Once I believed upon Him - Jesus - to redeem me of my all my sins, I had a sense of peace in my life that I never had before, and it was a peace that only comes by knowing and trusting in Him. It is a peace that truly does surpass all understanding, a peace that the unbelieving world does not know and cannot ever know absent of Him. Through the years of knowing Him and trusting in Him, the bitterness and fear that dominated my life for so long have been replaced with His love, a love for those who hurt me, rejected me, and mocked me, and a love for those who are my dear brothers and sisters in Christ. That is what knowing and believing in Jesus has done for me, and I want to multiply it by telling and sharing with people about how Jesus changed my life so much for the better and how He can change theirs too. If there is anyone reading this, I pray that if you get anything out of these devotional posts I write through God’s Holy Spirit who dwells within me, it is that Jesus loves you, so very, very much, and He wants you to turn to Him, and for you to let Him show you mercy, give you peace, and love you like no one else ever could. Will you taste and see that the Lord is good?

“O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.” (1 Chronicles 16:34)

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (Jesus Christ; John 14:27)

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:4-9) ✝️

September 30, 2023: Psalm 130:6 - My Soul Waits for the Lord

“My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning - yes, more than those who watch for the morning.” - Psalm 130:6

Like many others, I have gone through many a night when I was in deep despair and the darkness of the night was all around me, and not only darkness of the night, but the darkness of my sin. The darkness had enveloped me and not only me but also my family, and I longed for the morning light to shine once again. Praying to God, calling out to Him, I longed for the light of day, when the morning sun would finally rise, splitting the darkness and causing it to fade, giving me hope, and giving me strength to face another day in Him. It was through many nights like this that I finally learned to trust in the Lord in all things and that He is my hope. He is the light of the world, and He is our only hope, for He is our salvation.

Let us read in full this psalm that acknowledges the depth of our sin but also the fullness of the mercy and grace of God:

“Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD: Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared. I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning - yes, more than those who watch for the morning. O Israel, hope in the LORD; for with the LORD there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption. And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.” (Psalm 130)

The Bible speaks of watchmen who sat on an exterior wall or in the tower of a town, watching and guarding it, ready to warn the people by blowing a trumpet in the event of an invading army:

“I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day or night…” (Isaiah 62:6)

In the book of Ezekiel, God told the prophet Ezekiel that if the watchman did not do his job to warn the people and they died, then He would hold the watchman responsible for their death:

“Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: “When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.” So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. When I say to the wicked, “O wicked man, you shall surely die!” and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: “Thus you say, ‘If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine away in them, how can we then live?’ Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’”’” (Ezekiel 33:1-11)

As this passage of Scripture tells us, it is the watchman’s job to warn the people of approaching danger, and specifically for Ezekiel, he was to warn the people to turn from their wicked ways and live. If a watchman warns them and they do not heed his words, then their blood is on themselves and not the watchman. If they do heed the warning, they will be saved. However, if the watchman does not warn them and they die, then they die in their sin and God will put their blood on the watchman, God will hold him accountable for their death.

Similarly, we, who have been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ and believe on Him for our salvation from our sins, are watchmen and women and are to warn unbelievers of approaching danger. That danger is if they don’t heed the warnings of the Bible to turn from their wicked ways and if they reject Jesus’ free gift of salvation, then they will surely die in their iniquity, in their sins, and will be cast into the lake of fire forever. While I know of no Scripture that speaks of Christians being held to account for people who reject the gospel, salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, we should have a desire in us to tell people about Jesus, to warn them and to tell them how He can save them and they won't die in their iniquity.

The Bible and Jesus Himself tells us to watch and be ready:

“Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Matthew 24:42-44)

“Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love.” (1 Corinthians 16:13-14)

“Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.” (1 Thessalonians 5:6)

Rather than being distracted and deceived by all that the world offers, with all of its sin that is concealed and dressed up as good but what the word of God, the Bible, reveals as evil, we as believers in Christ are to keep our focus on Jesus. As the psalmist wrote in this psalm, we are to wait on the Lord. God’s word is true, and has been proven to be true based on the many prophecies that were foretold hundreds and even thousands of years beforehand that were fulfilled with stunning accuracy.

As the passages of Ezekiel 33:1-11 told about, there truly is a sword coming upon the land that will take away all who refuse to heed the warnings of the trumpet sound. In this case, the trumpet sound is the warning of the word of God that salvation from sins is found alone in His Son Jesus Christ. This truth will bring division in the world, even in our homes, as each of us must decide if we are with Jesus Christ or against Him:

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Jesus Christ; Matthew 10:34-39)

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:12-13)

“His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.’” (Revelation 1:14-18)

“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” (Revelation 19:11-16)

“And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.” (Revelation 19:21)

As the watchmen on the wall who looked out for and warned the people of incoming danger may have grown weary and tired at the end of their watch, in the darkest of night as they waited for the sun to rise, so too may be many of us, who are believers in Christ, may be growing weary in these last days and hours before Jesus returns and executes His righteous judgment upon a wicked and evil world. We are sickened by all the wickedness that surrounds us and sorrowful at the same time, because we know those who ignore the watchmen’s call and who choose evil will live in it for all eternity. But let us remember, again and again, that as believers in Christ who are called children of God and whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, our hope is not in this world but in Him, the true Light:

“Woe is me! For I am like those who gather summer fruits, like those who glean vintage grapes; there is no cluster to eat of the first-ripe fruit which my soul desires, The faithful man has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; every man hunts his brother with a net. That they may successfully do evil with both hands - the prince asks for gifts, the judge seeks a bribe, and the great man utters his evil desire; so they scheme together. The best of them is like a brier; the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge; the day of your watchman and your punishment comes; now shall be their perplexity. Do not trust in a friend; do not put your confidence in a companion; guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your bosom. For son dishonors father, daughter rises against her mother, daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own household. Therefore I will look to the LORD: I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.” (Micah 7:1-7)

“Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in You.” (Psalm 33:20-22)

“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’” (John 8:12)

“But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” (Revelation 21:22-23)

“Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you; and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him.” (Isaiah 30:18) ✝️

September 27, 2023: Psalm 136:3 - The Lord's Mercy Endures Forever

“Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! For His mercy endures forever!” - Psalm 136:3

This is just one verse from a beautiful psalm that praises the Lord our God for all that He has done for the children of Israel and acknowledges that His mercy endures forever. The author of the psalm acknowledges that it is Almighty God who created the heavens and the earth, who lights the day with the sun and the night with the moon and the stars. The psalmist remembers and gives thanks to the God of gods who with His “strong hand and with an outstretched arm” delivered His people Israel out of the hand of Pharaoh.

The children of Israel were brought out of their 430 years of slavery in Egypt through a mighty miracle performed by God Himself when He divided the Red Sea, allowing Israel to pass through it on dry land as they were led by Moses to safety, watching from the other side as the Red Sea swallowed up Pharaoh and his army as they pursued Israel. God’s people subsequently wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, often complaining of their difficulties and the lack of the food they used to eat while in captivity, before their next generation was allowed to enter the Promised Land that God gave them.

So too, does His mercy endure forever to those of us who have believed in His Son Jesus Christ for redemption of all our sins. As Israel was brought out of its slavery in Egypt, so have I been brought out of slavery, but my slavery was my bondage to my sin. We don’t realize that when we decide to sin, we become enslaved to it, no matter the sin. Whatever the sin is, it separates us from God; it is like the Red Sea, where bondage was on one side and freedom on the other. When we are in sin, we can’t get to the other side where freedom awaits us unless we put our faith and trust in God to get us to the other side, to be free. Jesus Christ is that way, the narrow way, the only way, that takes us to the side of freedom from sin. Jesus is our Red Sea moment. It is He who parts the deep waters and makes the way for us to be freed from our bondage. One day, when my sin had made me so miserable and I constantly lived my life in fear, for deep down inside I believe I worried about what would happen if I died in my sin, I turned to Jesus Christ to save me, saying, “Help me, Jesus, I can’t do this on my own!” He did, and my life has never been the same. He brought me through the narrow way that is my salvation, my freedom from bondage.

Like Israel, once I reached the other side, the side of freedom from sin but still struggling to trust in the Lord fully, I still tried sometimes to do things my way. It was like Tug of War, where I had finally given God all the rope and then that old stubborn side of me decided to pull or to tug it back, only to find myself stumbling and falling to the ground. Many times I would get mad at God and blame Him for my problems instead of putting the blame on the one who caused my problems in the first place: me. Like Israel who wandered in the wilderness for forty years complaining and grumbling even though God had provided for their every need, I too wandered, sometimes wanting to return to that former place, where though I was in bondage, it had felt comfortable to me, and sometimes even tasted good to me. Sometimes God lets us go through difficult times so that we will see that we need to trust fully in Him, even when we don’t understand what is happening to us at any given moment of our lives.

There really is a war that is raging, and it’s a spiritual war for my soul, for your soul, and for souls of all mankind. When we are not saved by God through believing in His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to redeem us of our sins, our soul is owned by Satan. When we turn to Jesus Christ, then He owns our soul, but Satan will do everything he can to steal it back, tempting us, and so we begin to tug against God, just as the Israelites did in the wilderness before they entered the Promised Land. The Holy Spirit, who comes inside of us the moment we turn to Jesus, will allow us to go through difficulties in our lives until we decide for ourselves not to keep committing the same old sins, and eventually, we will tug against God less and less, allowing Him to have more and more control over our lives. It is at that moment when we realize that God really is for us and not against us. It is at that moment when we become so very thankful for His mercy and love for us, and not only for us but also for our family members and friends as well. It is at that moment when we can see that through Him and the work that He is doing in us, we see changes in their lives as well. While they may not be saved yet by believing in Jesus Christ, we can see that He is working in them, and oh, what a wonderful thing that is to see!

Like the psalmist who wrote this psalm, I am so very thankful to the God of mercy, the God who saw me for who I am: a broken and sinful person in need of the Savior, and that He provided the way out of my brokenness and sin and His name is Jesus. I owe God everything, for it is through His love and mercy for me and for all of us, that He sent His only begotten Son Jesus to make the way of salvation. I thank Jesus for leading me out of the wilderness, where I was wandering and complaining in my sin, and leading me to the light, to freedom. I thank Jesus for being willing to suffer all that He suffered and to die a horrible death and be resurrected to life so that one day, we would be able to enter His eternal kingdom, and I believe that day is coming soon.

“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me [the apostle Paul], because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:12-17)

“Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven! For His mercy endures forever.” (Psalm 133:26) ✝️

September 26, 2023: Psalm 133:1 - Behold, How Good and How Pleasant!

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” - Psalm 133:1

King David wrote this beautiful psalm at a rare time when there was unity in Israel. While the psalm is brief in its length, it is rich and full in its spiritual meaning:

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the LORD commanded the blessing - life forevermore.” (Psalm 133)

In our world today that is filled with chaos and confusion because it is under the control of the one who is the author of chaos and confusion - Satan - we long for peace and unity. However, peace and unity are only possible when we put our faith and trust in the only One who can provide it - Jesus Christ. Sadly, the majority of the world has rejected the truth of God and instead believed the lies of Satan, who deceptively offers a false peace, as the prophet Jeremiah stated:

“‘Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them, everyone is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even to the priest, everyone deals falsely. They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly [superficially], saying “Peace, peace!” when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed; nor did they know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time I punish them, they shall be cast down,’ says the LORD.” (Jeremiah 6:13-15)

The United Nations even has on its website the words “Peace and Security” and states: (See: https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/peace-and-security#:~:text=%22To%20save%20succeeding%20generations%20from,two%20world%20wars%20by%201945.)

“ ‘To save succeeding generations from the scourge of war’ are among the first very words of the UN Charter (in its Preamble), and those words were the main motivation for creating the United Nations, whose founders had lived through the devastation of two world wars by 1945. Since the UN's creation on 24 October 1945 (the date its Charter came into force), the United Nations has often been called upon to prevent disputes from escalating into war, or to help restore peace following the outbreak of armed conflict, and to promote lasting peace in societies emerging from wars.”

I don’t think it’s any coincidence we keep hearing the words “peace and security” and “peace and safety.” The Bible even warns us of the times we are in when we hear this slogan:

“But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11)

The United Nations even posted a “Conference primer: Peace and Security: 2023” in advance of its recent Geneva Peace Talks held on September 21, 2023, which is also the same day that the UN has previously declared as the International Day of Peace. However, true peace can only come when we are united together in our faith in Jesus Christ, sent by God Himself as a sacrifice for our sins to all who believe in Him as the risen Savior, the King of kings and Lord of lords. The United Nations, however, rejects this truth and is seeking a false peace instead.

As Moses’s brother Aaron was anointed as the first high priest with the holy anointing oil as prescribed by God in the book of Exodus (Exodus 29:7, 30:22-25), Jesus was also anointed. However, Jesus was not only anointed once but three separate times with oil:

“And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table…’For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial.’” (Matthew 26:6-7, 12)

“Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.” (Luke 7:36-38)

“Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil…But Jesus said, ’Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.’” (John 12:1-3, 7)

Jesus is the Messiah, and “Messiah” means the “anointed one.” Jesus is the Messiah whom Daniel prophesied about long before Jesus came to earth the first time and was crucified, or “cut off,” as Daniel wrote about in the passage of prophecy below:

“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off [suffer the death penalty], but not for Himself…” (Daniel 9:25-26)

In Psalm 133, King David wrote about the blessing of the dew from Mount Hermon descending upon the mountains of Zion. If you have ever lived in a desert, like I have for many years, you know what a blessing from God that dew is. After having lived in New Mexico for over 30 years of my life and having moved to South Carolina, I experienced as an adult the morning dew. When I lived in the desert, everything was dry and I longed for the rain. What a blessing it is to live in a place now where even when our sprinklers have not run in the morning, there is a dew on the grass and the plants, and they soak it in, letting it nourish them.

God the Father, through the prophets, prophesied that the Messiah would come from Zion:

“Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; whoever believes will not act hastily.’” (Isaiah 28:16)

“O Zion, you who bring good tidings, get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, you who bring good tidings, lift up your voice with strength, lift it up, be not afraid; say to the cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God!’ Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.” (Isaiah 40:9-11)

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey; a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9)

Jesus the Messiah did come, just as God prophesied that He would, and Jesus is our greatest blessing of all, offering salvation from all sins to all who choose to believe in Him as the resurrected Christ. Jesus is like the morning dew that flows from on high:

“…but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (Jesus Christ; John 4:14)

“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (Jesus Christ; 7:38)

When Jesus ascended with three of His apostles to a high mountain, perhaps Mount Hermon, Jesus was transfigured before them:

“Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’” (Matthew 17:1-4)

Moses and Elijah had died long ago before they appeared on the mount. Moses represents the Law, and Elijah represents the Prophets. Peter, doing his best to understand what was happening, put Jesus on the same level of authority as them. However, with the arrival of Messiah, salvation would only be found through faith in Jesus Christ, and His first coming fulfilled all the prophecies of His first coming and Jesus will eventually fulfill all prophecies of Him:

“While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!’” (Matthew 17:5)

God clearly told Peter, James, and John that He approves of Jesus and for them to hear the words of His Son Jesus. Peter, James, and John had all seen a glimpse into the future, when Jesus would be in His glorified state at a time when they did not fully comprehend what was soon going to happen to Jesus. Jesus would be scourged, mocked, spat upon, crucified, and would give up His life and be placed into a tomb, but would rise again three days later, and walk the earth for forty days before ascending to God the Father, where He is now, at the right hand of God. Their beholding of the glorified Son of God must have filled them with hope, a hope that remain in them until the day they died and were reunited with Him. Years later, Peter and John wrote about what they saw:

“For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 2:16-21)

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

“And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” (John 20:30-31)

Oh, that the unbelieving world would hear and heed the words of Jesus “as a light that shines in a dark place,” that they would follow Him and not the world. This world cannot offer peace, for true peace is only found in Jesus:

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (Jesus Christ; John 16:33)

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (Jesus Christ; John 14:27)

“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.” (Colossians 3:15)

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.” (Isaiah 26:3-4)

Every single one of us who have put our faith and trust in Him for our salvation, both those who live today and those who have died, will one day dwell together in unity, in a new heaven and a new earth, where we will live without sin and will live in eternal peace and joy, with Him. Behold, how good and how pleasant that will be!

“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’ Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.’ And He said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.’” (Revelation 21:1-8)

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (Jesus Christ; John 3:16) ✝️

September 21, 2023: Psalm 126:5 - Our Tears will be Replaced with Joy

“Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.” - Psalm 126:5

The psalmist wrote these words after the Lord God brought them, likely the Jewish captives who had been taken from their land in Judah and brought into captivity in Babylon for seventy years, back into their land of Israel. The psalmist was overjoyed with gladness and thankfulness that God had forgiven them and had restored them to their homeland that God Himself had given them long ago.

Just as this psalmist rejoiced, so do I rejoice, that God, through Jesus Christ, has forgiven me and brought me out of the Babylon of my wicked heart. For most of my life, I lived without knowing Jesus Christ, and I struggled with my sin, with my stubbornness, wanting to do things my way instead of His way. Though I had not been taken to a foreign land and held captive for many years, I was held captive to Satan by my sin. I was in bondage to my sin and I didn’t even realize it. After years of trying to fix all my problems and my family’s problems, it became too much, and I finally surrendered all to God, down on my knees in repentance to Him. When I did and I stood up, it literally felt like a 2,000-pound weight had been lifted off of my back, and it had, for God had taken my heavy burden. However, He didn’t take it until I was ready to give it to Him. He was always there, patiently waiting for me to do so, but never forcing me.

Though I live in a country, America, that has become like Babylon with its rejection of the one true God in order to worship false gods and embrace wicked and evil practices even known to mankind and creating those which no mind and soul owned by God could ever conceive, I know that one day, I, along with all my brothers and sisters all around the world, who put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ for our salvation, will be brought into our true home land. I know that all the times when I have been mocked for my faith, for telling others of the saving power of Jesus Christ, for believing in the one true God and that His every word is true, when I have endured through painful relationships because I knew it was what God wanted me to do - to shine His light in the darkness even when it meant swallowing my pride - that one day, the tears that I have sown for my love of Jesus, will be replaced with an abundance of joy, a joy that the unbelieving world can never know. Oh, how His light shines in the dark, penetrating the shadows in the dark crevices that surround our lives as the unbelieving world grows darker and darker, gravitating to the one that promises them everything and delivers nothing, believing the lies of Satan. But God’s light will not be overcome by the darkness, ever. As the prophet Micah said:

“Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; when I fall, I will arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against Him, until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. He will bing me forth to the light; I will see His righteousness.” (Micah 7:8-9)

As I continue on, pressing on, in this world, I have the promises of Jesus, including His promise of His redemption of all my sins and the promise of His light in my life:

“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’” (John 8:12)

If I remain in the light of Jesus, my Lord and Savior, He will lead me to my true Home, where sin and sorrow are no more and will finally be replaced with joy, everlasting joy:

“Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for a new heaven and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:13)

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

“You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11)

“I have set the LORD always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope.'“ (Psalm 16:8-9) ✝️

September 19, 2023: Psalm 139:23-24- Search me, O God, and Know my Heart

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” - Psalm 139:23-24

King David, Israel’s most beloved king, closed his beautiful psalm the same way he opened it, but this time, he was asking God, inviting God, to search him and to know his heart. David also asked God to try or to test him and to reveal if there were any wicked way in him. It is one thing to acknowledge that God created us and knows everything about us, as David did earlier in this psalm, but it is another thing to ask Him to examine us, to test us, and identify any wickedness in our lives. The intent of asking God to do this was for God to lead David in the way everlasting. What a different state our world would be in if each one of us did this! Sadly, a large percentage of people in the world do not believe in the one true God, the God that sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to offer salvation from our sins to all who believe in Him and put their trust in Him and in Him alone for their salvation. How many of us are willing to let God into our innermost thoughts, including all the sinful ones? How many of us are willing to let God examine our heart and see if it is divided between Him and the things of this world? How many of us are willing to let God see what makes us anxious or fearful and the reasons why we feel this way? How many of us are willing to have Him reveal to us the wickedness in us? King David was willing, and God referred to him as “a man after My own heart”:

“And when He had removed him [Saul, the king prior to King David], He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’” (Acts 13:22)

God had chosen David to be a king when he was young, likely no older than a teenager and possibly younger than that. God had told the prophet Samuel that He had rejected Saul, the king of Israel at that time, because Saul had not obeyed God’s commandments and had turned from following Him:

“Now the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying, ‘I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments.’” (1 Samuel 15:10-11).

God told Samuel to go to the house of a man named Jesse and for Samuel to take his horn and fill it with oil and anoint a new king that God had provided Himself from among Jesse’s sons (1 Samuel 16:1) Like most people, when Samuel went to Jesse and had Jesse present before him Eliab, the firstborn of his eight sons, Samuel presumed Eliab would be chosen as the king:

“But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)

Jesse then proceeded to call six more of his sons, but God had not chosen any of them to be king. Finally, Samuel asked Jesse if there were anymore young men there. Jesse replied, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.” (1 Samuel 16:11) Samuel told Jesse to bring him to them, and Jesse brought his youngest son, David, to him:

“Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the LORD said, ‘Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!’ Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.” (1 Samuel 16:12-13)

David loved the Lord and would go on to do many great things for Him and through Him. However, David was not exempt from sin. One year during springtime, David had sent his men out into battle with the people of Ammon and David remained in Jerusalem. One night, David got out of bed and went to the roof of his house and looked and saw a beautiful woman bathing. Instead of turning his eyes from her lest he be tempted to sin, he inquired about her and found out that her name was Bathsheba, that she was married to Uriah the Hittite and he sent messengers to her. She came to his house and they had sexual intercourse and she became pregnant with David’s child. In an attempt to make it look like she was pregnant with her husband Uriah’s child, David called Uriah back from the battle and told him to go to his house. David was hoping that Uriah would have sexual intercourse with his wife and that once Uriah found out she was pregnant, he would assume it was his own child. However, Uriah did not go to his house but “slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house.” (2 Samuel 11:9) When David heard of this, he asked Uriah why he hadn’t gone to his own house:

“And Uriah said to David, ‘The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.’” (2 Samuel 11:11)

David’s plan to cover up his sin had failed. Instead of repenting of his sin and asking God to forgive him, he came up with another plan, which was to have Uriah return to the battlefield and have him placed in the frontlines and be killed, and that is exactly what happened. David later married Bathsheba and she bore him a son. The Bible tells us: “But the thing that David had done displeased [was evil in the eyes of] the LORD.” (2 Samuel 11:27) God then sent Nathan the prophet to confront David about his great sin against the Lord. Nathan told David there was a city where two men lived, one rich and one poor. The rich man had everything he could ever want, with many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb that was like a daughter to him. Nathan told of a traveler who came to the rich man but instead of the rich man taking one of his many lambs and preparing it for dinner for the traveler, the rich man took the poor man’s one and only lamb and prepared it for the dinner. When David heard this he was enraged and said, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.” (2 Samuel 12:5-6)

“Then Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man!’ Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have give you much more! Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and you have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’” (2 Samuel 12:7-12)

David could not see his hypocrisy in his own life, his own sin, until Nathan called him out on it. How many of us have been in similar situations with our own lives, our own lies, our own sins? Through Nathan, God told David that He would hold him accountable for what he had done. What did David do next? Did he dig in his heels and continue in his sin? No, he acknowledged he had sinned and his sin was against God:

“So David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the LORD.’” (2 Samuel 12:13)

Nathan then told David:

“The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.” (2 Samuel 12:13-14)

That is what happened. As God had told him, David experienced a lot of adversity in his life and in his own family because of his sin. How many of us have experienced such a thing when we ourselves have made poor choices in our lives, things that God calls sin, and had it affect not only us but members of our family?

After Nathan had confronted David of his sin with Bathsheba, David wrote Psalm 51 in which he confessed his sin, which I have included below:

“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight - that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sin, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise. For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart - these, O God, You will not despise. Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; build the walls of Jerusalem. Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering; then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.” (Psalm 51)

Notice what David said about what are the sacrifices of God. God didn’t want David to sacrifice with any sort of animal as a burnt offering to atone for his sin; rather, He wanted David, and He wants us too, to sacrifice with our broken, guilty, and remorseful heart. God wants us to turn away from our sin and to turn to Him, and that is what David acknowledged and that is what David did. God knew even before He formed David in his mother’s womb that David would commit this horrible sin, and yet God still created him and God loved David, just as He loves each and every one of us. But with God’s love also comes the consequences of our sins against Him, and each of us must decide if we will continue in our sin or if we will acknowledge our sins and turn to Him for forgiveness of sins.

God’s forgiveness of David’s sins was a foreshadow of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who would come to offer salvation of all sins for all who put our faith and trust in Him, no matter what sins we have committed. God doesn’t expect us to be perfect; rather, He wants us to turn back to Him when we sin, just as King David did.

King David was from the tribe of Judah:

“Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had eight sons.” (1 Samuel 17:12)

It was through the lineage of David, the Israeli tribe of Judah, that Messiah, Jesus Christ, would come, and the Bible foretold of this long before Jesus’ first coming to earth. In the book of 2 Samuel, God made a covenant with David through Nathan the prophet:

“When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever. According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.” (2 Samuel 7:12-17)

This prophecy applies both to the son that David and Bathsheba would later have named Samuel and to the coming Messiah, Jesus the Christ. Samuel would go on to build the first Jewish temple, a house for the Lord. However, Samuel’s kingdom did not reign forever and he committed many iniquities (sins) against God and he was chastened by God. But as God promised, the Messiah would come through the line of David:

“There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. His delight is in the fear of the LORD, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears; but with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, and faithfulness the belt of His waist.” (Isaiah 11:1-5)

“And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious.” (Isaiah 11:10)

“‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.” (Jeremiah 23:5)

There is coming a time when Jesus will return to earth, defeat all evil, reign with His saints for 1,000 years on earth, and then will create a new heavens and a new earth and will reign in righteousness for all eternity. Those who are saved by trusting in Him will be with Him in glory, forevermore, in a place where sin is no more and the world is as God created it to be, from the beginning. Jesus Himself - the lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of Jesse, and the Branch of righteousness - proclaimed in the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible:

“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.” (Jesus Christ; Revelation 22:16)

In closing, I ask you, have you asked God to search you and to know your heart, and have you given your heart to Him? Are you letting Him lead you in the way everlasting? If not, why? He is waiting for you to turn to Him, He wants you to turn to Him, for He loves you with a love that is so much deeper than any love we can know from anyone here on earth. Just as He saved and forgave David, a sinner, because David turned back to Him, so can He save you. I pray you do turn to Him, before it’s too late, and that one day, I will meet you in the way everlasting. ✝️